TEACHING, A SCIENCE: 



THE 



TEACHER AN ARTIST, 



BY 



KEV. BAYNARD R. HALL, A.M. 

PRINCIPAL OF THE CLASSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE, NEWBURGH, 
AND AUTHOR OF " SOMETHING FOR EVERY BODY," ETC. 



NEW-YORK: 
BAKER AND SCRIBNER, 

145 Nassau Street, and 36 Park Row. 

1848. 



.H;7 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 

BAKER AND SCRIBNER, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern Dis- 
trict of New-York. 



E. O. JENKINS, PRINTER, 
No, 114 Nassau Street. 



CONTENTS, 



Page. 

Preface, -.,..,.. y 



CHAPTER I. 

The Artist, . . , ' ^ . . . , j3 

CHAPTER li. 
The Science, or the End of Teaching, ... 45 

CHAPTFR III 
The Toola and Instruments, . , g4 

CHAPTER IV, 
Arranging and Managing the Material, , , . 1 1 5 

CHAPTER V. 
Schools, in their Kinds, Sorts and Varieties, . 16 j 



IV CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Page. 
Common {Sehoois, ..,..., 203 



CHAPTER VII. 
PersorK5 most saitaWe for Teacherg, .... 260 

CHAPTER Vlll. 
To the Young, . ... 289 



PREFACE 



This book is not an experiment, but an experience. 
Facts are here stated rather than theories ; yet the 
former verify the latter as held by the author, in 
common with numerous educators of the past and 
the present. The experienced may speak without 
^immodesty, although many have already spoken on 
the same topic ; while it is not a necessary conse- 
quence that nothing remains unsaid. Should nothing 
new remain, the testimony of a person for years con- 
versant with theory and practice, may aid the inqui- 
ries of many, and especially of such as are influenced 
by the number as well as the character of witnesses, 

A right to be heard conceded, an author must still 
consider whether his experience has been sufficiently 
long and varied in favorable circumstances, to ren- 
der his m#re testimony of value, in case he advances 
nothing new. Mis-judgment on this point is very 
possible. For, while men over-rate their talents and 
under-rate their influence, yet most think that a spe- 
cialty belongs to their lives which authorizes the 
obtrusion of themselves upon the world. 



Vi PREFACE. 

The author's reasons for deeming his experience 
of some value are these : — During twenty-five years 
he has been a teacher. In the transition from boy- 
hood he was a private tutor in a gentleman's family. 
His early manhood was passed, first, as principal of 
a State institution, and then as a professor when that 
institution became a college. Since then, and dur- 
ing the prime of life, he has been principal of schools 
various in their character, some incorporated, some 
independent and private. These schools have been, 
some day-schools, some boarding-schools, and others 
a combination of both. He has been also an assist- 
ant, and thus he has learned to follow as well as to 
lead, to receive as well as give orders. Mathemat- 
ics, sciences, languages, and the inferior and superior 
branches of the english, have been taught by him ; 
ahd his pupils have been of several nations, of 
both sexes, of every age, and of two opposite col- 
ors — descendants of Ham, and also of Japhet. 
Schools under his care have been hundreds of miles 
asunder, differing in latitude, morally and politically, 
not less than geographically ; thus compelling him, 
if not inclined, to several modes of teaching, gov- 
ernment and discipline. From all which, and simi- 
lar reasons, he judges that the world will give him a 
favorable hearing. 

But more than the force of this consi^leration is 
claimed for a perusal of the book : it states some 
things new, and some old things in a new way, and 
both advantageous to the educational cause. The 
real value, if the new things and methods are dis- 
covered, must be determined by the courteous 
reader. 



PREFACE. Vii 

In preparing the work, certain books were sug- 
gested as containing valuable hints : the author, how- 
ever, declined consulting these. A few works on 
education, in whole or in part, have, in the course of 
his life, been read, but never with the least view of 
obtaining materials for his own. His own was to 
be an experience, and that cannot be transferred. 
He has, too, always wished to write rather than 
compile. Works recommended may be better or 
worse than this ; courtesy allows the former. But 
the value of this book depends not in the least on its 
comparative merits. Its main value is in the sepa- 
rate and independent testimony ; experience and 
inference are stamped on the pages. 

Ideas derived from reading and conversation are 
undoubtedly in a work of this kind. They are, per- 
haps, in the following chapters never in a detached 
form ; they are woven with the texture, and contrib- 
ute to form a whole piece. Possibly one or two 
phrases, and frequent sayings, whose parents are 
dead or unknown, have been adopted as the au- 
thor's own ; yet he pleads guilty to the fault of being, 
usually, himself, and speaking his own words. He 
has been constantly mindful of the poet's caution 
about following nature — that it was his own. The 
fashion, of late, in educational essays, lectures and 
treatises, has, indeed, been the other way ; but some 
prefer being out of the fashion, even if they must, in 
consequence, be out of the world. Originality may 
be nothing very striking ; yet our own copper 
thoughts may please better than silver ideas stolen 
from a neighbor.^ Novelty, at least, is refreshing. 



Viii PREFACE. 

The younger class of professional teachers may 
be most interested in this work. These must, for a 
time, follow mainly authority. However seeming 
the paradox, they, who modestly submit, in earlier 
life, to proper authority, are the only persons that 
become, afterwards, independent of authority. These 
" grow wiser than their teachers," and are taught by 
masters how to become themselves authority for 
others. The self-willed, in spite of all empty notions 
of independence, are preparing for a servitude end- 
less and severe. Humility before exaltation, de- 
pendence before freedom, is a law of our being. 

Views, indeed, different from those elsewhere ob- 
tained, perhaps opposite, may be presented "in this 
work. Then, the young teacher must decide, 
whether to follow the former authorities or the new ; 
or he may question both. The smoothness of a too 
easy credence is roughened ; unthinking obedience 
is disturbed ; he stands in the midst of wholesome 
doubts. Deeper search commences, that leads to 
thorough investigation, not of books — these he now 
in a measure distrusts — but of his subject as it offers 
in daily practice. He is compelled to study nature. 
Soon comes a modification of former opinions ; and 
finally, a set of opinions self-originated, and com- 
pounded of old and new. 

Resulting systems cautiously, slowly, and labori- 
ously created in honest minds, independent and ca- 
pable of thinking, must, of necessity, agree in essen- 
tial features ; and that essential agreement is truth 
and nature. While different minds arrive at the 
same or similar conclusions, still each mind is a sep- 



PREFACE. ix 

arate originator. For the results are all reached by 
separate and independent efforts. A thinker is vir- 
tually alone in the mental world ; although the vis- 
ible and tangible teems with individuals creating, at 
the same moment, the same systems and theories. 
Originality does not mean singularity. Millions 
see the same sun ; but each man sees for himself and 
not another. He does not see because others see ; 
and without eyes he would see nothing. So is it in 
the world of thought, so with all arts and sciences, 
and so with the art and science of teaching, 

The present work is mainly valuable as one of 
the resulting systems. If true, it must coincide 
with the experience of many. Idiosyncratic pecu- 
liarities may be discovered, or possibly suspected ; 
yet it follows not, that seeming peculiarities may 
not prove, after all, truth and nature. 

From these remarks, a work of this kind may not 
prove without value to teachers and theoretic edu- 
cators, of maturer age. Few know absolutely 
everything belonging to their profession. Men, too, 
of sterling abilities are truly modest ; and when long 
isolated, they often become timid. Then they value 
highly in others, what they themselves possess in 
greater degree and abundance. On many points 
they have correct opinions ; but still they are not 
confident in their conclusions. Could they only 
know that other thinkers hold the same conclusions, 
they would be bold. With them, two are better 
than one ; although they themselves may be giants, 
and their comrades pigmies. 



PREFACE. 



But theories and practices need occasional cor- 
rections. And even seeming peculiarities in an au- 
thor, may awaken a salutary suspicion of peculiarity 
in the reader. Habit becomes, indeed, a second 
nature ; still, a habit may be like an old and favorite 
coat- — the worse from the wearing, and scarcely 
worth the mending. If the book is instrumental in 
furnishing a better habit, although such may, at 
first, sit awkwardly and pinch and rub, it may, in 
time, make some worthy gentlemen comport them- 
selves according to the dignity of the profession. 

Books and systems of education are not reviewed 
in these chapters. Reasons are not studiously given 
for animadversion or commendation. Professed art- 
ists are allowed to furnish opinions ; and these opin- 
ions have weight with the reader according to his 
estimation of the author. They may, indeed, be 
subjected to examination ; although, where we sur- 
render ourselves to the character of a writer, we 
think that a surrender to argument, and an acquies- 
cence in logical conclusions. An author, however, 
who deems his opinions truth, cannot object if they 
are regarded as rules, whether the induction be per- 
ceived or not. His own mind is satisfied ; he pre- 
sumes his opinions will benefit others. Yet, they 
who are moved by authority against a book or a 
system to-day, will easily to-morrow be moved in its 
favor by a greater, or possibly equal authority. 

The author is willing that his remarks should be 
applied or appropriated justly ; but earnestly does 
he deprecate special application and appropriation, 
in any of the communities where he may have been 



PREFACE. 



XI 



a resident. Few, very tew teachers have such 
cause of gratitude, and to more friends and ac- 
quaintances, in different sections of the Union, than 
himself. He has not, indeed, been exempt from un- 
pleasant things ; yet honestly does he affirm that all 
have been not more than a small drop of bitter in a 
full cup of sweetness. He has every reason to love 
his profession ; and nothing would be more painful, 
than a mis-appHcation or a mis-appropriation of his 
severe animadversions. 

This book may be read without detriment by any 
class. It is designed, however, for teachers, theo- 
retical and practical, and for educators generally 
for all who have children to educate or intend to 
have ; for trustees of schools, visitors^ and examin- 
ers, and all who attend examinations ; for legislators, 
both those who are deemed fit for the house of as- 
sembly by majorities, and those that think themselves 
fit, and who will be sent when the political complex- 
ion changes, and the logic of majority changes with 
it ; for true patriots and philanthropists, and all that 
would be thought such. It is designed somewhat 
particularly for clergymen and students of divinity. 
It has a very special eye to the interest of book- 
makers and book-mongers ; and even the book- 
agents, that show off and talk off school-books with 
an admirable liquidity of glibness, and offer " new 
lamps for old ones," may find in this book some 
profitable hints relative to their benevolent vo- 
cation. 

In general, the style of the work is the simple 
style of testimony. No pretension is made to be 



Xii PREFACE. 

ranked as a book of elegant literature. The author 
rather walks in slippers than steps in boots. But 
criticism is not deprecated : the author expects to 
be set right where he is wrong. If scourging is 
merited, he may wince, but he will not whine ; and 
if critics are mistaken, he may perchance endeavor 
to show their errors. And yet, in justice to himself, 
it must be said that a better choice of words among 
synonyms, a more terse style, and an easier flow of 
sentences, might, perhaps, have characterized the 
book, if time and opportunity had been at the au- 
thor's disposal. But, like his other productions, this 
has, of necessity, been hurried ; his study being in 
no particular place, and the merry sound of juvenile 
I'oices being ever in his ear. He will try and do 
better next time. 

In conclusion, he says, ex animo, that he aims in 
this work solely at usefulness ; if he fails in that in- 
tention, his sorrow will be unfeigned. 

Newburgh, Orange Co., N. Y., Nov , 1847. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE ARTIST. 

The just appreciation of our own, is no dispar- 
agement of other men's office, character, or dignity. 
It is sometimes due to persons who sustain a charac- 
ter, or discharge the duties of an office, or administer 
a law, to set such in their true Hght. The neglect 
of that duty is not infrequently fraught with many 
and great evils. We may, at any time — we must, 
at certain times — magnify our office. 

The character and office of the teacher, if not 
the first, are among the first, in importance and dig- 
nity. Nor does courtesy, or proper humility, require 
this remark to be restricted to the profession as it 
might be ; it is true of the profession as it exists. 
Teachers enough, of every age, and in all the grades, 
can be selected, who, embodying in themselves all 
that usually challenges admiration, insph'es confi- 
dence, and begets reverence in beholders, show 
plainly that the possible and desirable is in the con- 
crete as well as the abstract. 
2 



14 CHAPTER I. 

Measuring importance, grandeur, dignity, by 
the nature of a service and the end to be attained, 
the profession of a teacher stands eminent. Its end 
is to form man ; or, it fits man for his duties. The 
numberless essays on education ; the laws ever 
made in civilized nations, with the rich endow- 
ments presented by the State ; the countless books 
and apparatus of instruction ; the almost count- 
less teachers and schools ; the lectures on all 
these principal and subordinate topics ; these, and 
the like, all proclaim, with endless repetition, and 
with a thousand voices, the opinions of the good, 
the wise, the learned, the patriotic, the Christian, 
the philosopher, and the statesman, concerning the 
training of man. These all say that man untaught, 
untrained, undisciplined, is, with all his native pow- 
ers, of small value, either to himself or the world. 

Not only is man placed in a world of materials, 
to be arranged, fashioned, wrought, and applied to 
uses ; but man himself, especially in his earlier days, 
is a material to be fashioned by his superiors, and 
thus to become adapted to the ends of his riper and 
mature state. Without the forming hand of others, 
man, like the unwrought materials of the earth in a 
confused mass, would be almost valueless. Some- 
times, like these, he would be a nuisance. At best 
he could become but a tool in the hands of the 
adept and educated. lie may have much negative 
happiness, and be forced into industrious habits, 
while dwelling in an enlightened community where 
cultivated intellects give him the law, and guide, and 
govern, and protect ; but, deprived of these advan- 



THE ARTIST. 



15 



tages by accident, and thrown back into the savage 
state, and remaining himself uneducated, he would 
soon degenerate into the worst forms of barbarism. 

It is a great error, and it has an extensive and 
baleful influence on sound learning, the common 
opinion entertained oftener' than it is expressed, and 
yet often expressed in places polished and refined : 
that as many are rich, and prosperous, and caressed, 
and honored, who are without even the rudiments of 
education, therefore, the discipline of the schools, 
and of learning, is not essential. And this opinion, 
like a thousand similar falsities, gains strength from 
the unguarded remarks of pettishness and disap- 
pointment in the well-educated themselves. Yet the 
error is as egregious as when non-resistants, encom- 
passed in their homes by the militia of the country, 
and the bulwarks of defence, tell us how secure they 
are in ultra-peace principles, without fighting or 
self-defence ! Let such pitch a tent, or rear a bark- 
hut, in the far-oflf prairies, or the wide and tangled 
forest, away from friends and amid bandits, and that 
will test the truth of the ultra principles of non-resist- 
ants. So is it with the unlearned and undisciplined. 

Would we see at once what these fortunate per- 
sons would have been without the advantages of a 
cultivated society for the place of their residence ? 
Behold it in the savage state itself ! The external 
difl^erences between the brute and the man are 
scarcely greater and more apparent than between 
the man of nature and the man of art ! And harsh 
as it may seem, we yet must ever rank, and gener- 
ally speaking we deserve to rank, in the scale of 



16 



CHAPTER 1. 



excellence according to the degree of our mental 
and moral culture. 

On this point observations may be indefinitely 
extended ; for, after volumes should have been writ- 
ten to prove and illustrate the position, that man is 
truly man only when educated and disciplined, much 
and different would remain unsaid. 

Is the teacher indispensably requisite to this for- 
mation ? or rather this creation ? — for an educated 
man is as much a creation as a painting or a statue. 

The materials, indeed, of the moral and mental 
formation are sought by the artist within and not 
without his subject ; but all the qualities of the 
artist must belong to the teacher : quick and keen 
perception, the faculty of arrangement, taste, skill, 
tact, patience, enthusiasm ! What, then, the vast- 
ness, the dignity, the grandeur of the teacher's pro- 
fession ! 

In some things a maker is known from his works ; 
in others his work is admired, but with no thought 
of himself. And yet in this latter class of creations 
or formations,the maker is no less worthy admiration, 
and reverence, and thanks, than in the former. 

In poetry, painting, statuary, music, architecture, 
and some other arts, the formations of which break 
upon the monotony of life, and delight with compar- 
ative novelty, thus serving to recreate the minds of 
beholders ; or the formations of which force and 
rivet, for awhile, our attention, by being placed 
amidst surrounding objects, dull and ordinary, per- 
haps discordant ; in these we see the beauties, the 
grandeurs, at once. We spontaneously cry, How 



THE ARTIST. j^ 

wonderful ! how delightful ! how majestic ! and, at 
the same moment, with feelings in unison with the 
real excellence of the works, we think of the maker. 
An isolated monument — a triumphal arch — a solemn 
cathedral — a stately ship, graceful in the repose of 
a swan-like dignity upon the bosom of still waters — 
awake sentiments of admiration and reverence, not 
only towards the works, but towards the workman 
and contriver. 

Myriads of common things, however, awake no 
interest. We think no more of them and their 
makers than if, like mushrooms, they had fortuitously 
sprung from the earth. Yet many such things are 
intrinsically excellent ; some are grand ; and talents 
the most versatile, and genius the most commanding, 
marked the originators and doers. Who is stirred 
with profound emotions in beholding daily the ma- 
chinery of a cotton factory, or any other wonder- 
ful, half-sentient, life-moving apparatus ? Who 
thinks of contrivance, and skill, and of architects, 
on the bank of a canal, or on a Macadamized road ? 
Yet great minds conceived and created these. 

The surpassing glories of a diurnal sun ; the 
matchless beauties of a nightly moon ; the sweet 
fragrance of garden flowers ; or the changeful and 
grateful colors of the meadow's grass, do not always 
instantly move the soul of the beholders : but the 
sudden gleam of strange meteors ; or the keen vibra- 
tion of the unexpected lightning ; or the awful roar 
of the deep-voiced thunder ; the heavy moan of 
the ocean's mountain waves ; or the throes of the 
earth's agony in the convulsions of an earthquake ; 



28 CHAPTER 1. 

these speak and are heard — these stir the stagnant 
depths of the heart, and force us to exclaim, ^' Great 
is God." 

Thus in regard to education : its admirable and im- 
portant effects are so common that, Hke the rising of 
the sun, and the falling of the dew, and the congeal- 
ing of the frost, they ordinarily arrest no attention — 
they are things of course — they happened yesterday, 
we see them to-day, they will be to-morrow. But 
when some herculean achievement in literature or 
science, or some literary work, aside from the com- 
mon track, is announced, then the mind is attentive, 
and notices the vast wideness of man cultivated 
from man in his native nothingness ; and then the 
true excellence of all the means of education — its 
schools, and colleges, and teachers, and professors, 
and books — all come in for a share of admiration 
and praise. 

The teacher, in his office and profession, aims at 
these grand results. As such results are wonderful, 
noble, beneficial, so is that office full of all dignity 
and grandeur ; and this, whether, from the com- 
monness of the excellencies, they are noticed and 
admired or not. Nay, as our souls are frequently 
moved in serious meditation on what is most com- 
mon, so the more we consider the daily and hourly 
excellencies and advantages of education — the deep 
horror of darkness that would be, if all its lights 
were withdrawn or extinguished — the more shall 
we revere the men of instruction ! 

Teaching is a science ; and the teacher, redacing 
its principles to practice, is an artist. That many 



THE ARTIST. J 9 

professed teachers are incompetent, is admitted : 
every profession has its pretenders. That few com- 
petent teachers are fully sensible of the majesty of 
their office, and its many and great responsibilities, 
is too true : selfishness is more general and domi- 
nant than benevolence. But the true teacher is an 
artist. He resembles not an engineer on a steam- 
car, nor a helmsman at the rudder of a ship. Such 
men must be faithful and watchful, yet do they need 
little intelligence and skill beyond the ability to turn 
a spiggot, or to push a lever, according to rules pre- 
scribed by the master-spirits of the boiler and the 
compass. The existence of so many teachers, how- 
ever, whose competency is only that of an ordinary 
engineer and helmsman, and the great deficiency on 
the score of generous and elevated enthusiasm in 
many who otherwise are masters, show how deeply 
rooted in the very core of the community is the be- 
lief, that education is indispensable to the well-being 
of that community. The heathen nations, rather 
than be without any God, choose a thousand : the 
world, for a similar reason, tolerate false teachers ; 
and where the good cannot be obtained, content 
themselves with the bad. 

The true teacher is an artist — a former — a crea- 
tor. Books, apparatus, systems of instruction, are 
his implements. With these tools he erects his edi- 
fice, he shapes his block of marble. He that depends 
on these tools to do his work in education, is no 
teacher in the lofty and proper sense of the term. 
He resembles more the mason that looks to the hod 
and trowel to erect the wall, or the statuary that 



20 



CHAPTER I. 



asks the chisel to create ! Some — many — do, in- 
deed, teach by line and rule, even as a street organ- 
ist plays music by a crank : the latter produces the 
same tunes, with endless reiteration, till the mechan- 
ism wears out ; the former do with one mind w^hat 
is done with another, and by applying the same in- 
struments, and in the same manner ! or, they ad- 
minister books and lessons as quacks do their pills, 
potions, and panaceas ; they are equally pretenders. 

No competent teacher undervalues suitable books, 
apparatus, and systems. But, without the compe- 
tent teacher, all such things must be more or less 
insufficient ; sometimes they may be injurious. A 
botch may essay to use the tools of a master-work- 
man ; and, although he may to many seem to use 
them aright, to the discerning, his work will be the 
same as caricature. A good carpenter will prefer, 
indeed, a good adze, because he can do better than 
with a poor one ; but the botch would often cut the 
worse, and in a wrong direction. 

Instruments for many trades and handicrafts may 
be so improved that a child may do the labor of a 
man ; and an apprentice, or, indeed, a person igno- 
rant of all arts, may do as well as the most adroit 
and skilful workman : yet not so in education. That 
cannot be done by mere machinery. Whoever, 
therefore, aims, in making school-books, at such per- 
fection as that, in elementary education, accom- 
plished and competent masters may be dispensed 
with, aims at an utter impossibility. His claims to 
such contrivances merit contempt. He has never 
been properly schooled himself He can be classed 



THE ARTIST. 21 

only with the makers and venders of nostrums and 
specifics ; and all who buy his quackeries, and, with- 
out any skill and genius of their own, expect by such 
means to become teachers, are like the credulous 
and sapient folk that procure an herb-doctor's book 
of directions, and his botanical chest, and commence 
the practice of medicine. No wise and learned man, 
if an honest man, can make such books ; and an 
honest man, without learning, is incompetent to make 
any books for schools. 

The teacher, as an artist, possesses intellectual 
and moral qualifications that must class him with 
the best, and show that his office or profession ranks 
among the highest in dignity and importance. The 
teacher must be, among other things, a philosopher, 
a judge, a ruler, a parent, a preacher ; and he must be, 
also, learned and scientific. He must have power 
over himself. He must be conversant with men as 
well as books. He must be disinterested. He must 
possess an ardent love of learning, and must de- 
light in his creations, as specimens of an approxima- 
tion to the beau ideal. And this spirit, and this en- 
thusiasm, make him press onward through difficul- 
ties and discouragements, and over obstacles and 
impediments, unwearied, towards the attainment of 
his end, unmoved by the carpings of the envious, the 
insolence of the rich and covetous, the revilings of 
the slanderous, the prejudices of the ignorant, the 
baseness of the fraudulent, the anger of the revenge- 
ful, the ingratitude of the thankless and the vile ! 
He has contemplated the way ; he has seen its dan- 
gers and darkness ; he has heard the fierce cries of 
2* 



22 CHAPTER 1. 

the wild beasts, and the howl of the cruel tempest ! 
He has counted the cost, and at the end of a labo- 
rious life of toil and sweat, he has seen poverty and 
reproach ; and yet he has resolved that he will edu- 
cate ! He has done this, even as others say, I will 
paint ! I will carve ! I will write ! 

This man's reward is not the paltry price so often, 
so very often, doled out by grudging spirits, and 
with an unwilling hand and a supercilious brow, as 
if the pittance were more than a price ! as if a mas- 
ter gave something to a slave ! or as if the teacher 
receiving his fee were a hateful necessity to be 
borne — a beggar to be fed ! No ! the teacher's soul, 
stung, indeed, at meanness, suspicion, distrust, thank- 
lessness ; pitying ignorance, with its self-compla- 
cency and conceit ; indignant at the repetition of 
petty frauds — his soul soars away up, far above the 
grovelling, and looks from the lofty heights far on- 
ward, when his productions shall stand majestic 
among the cultivated sons of earth ! He sees his 
children enacting and guarding laws, administering 
justice, defending right, punishing evil, vindicating the 
wronged and oppressed, patronizing the arts, repel- 
ling the invader, by skill as well as by force ; he sees 
him, with keen and burnished weapons, asserting 
and defending truth ! he sees him an ambassador 
from God to man — a preacher of the gospel of Christ ! 
And then calmly, yet with a thrill, does the teacher 
await that day, when the voice of One shall say, 
before assembled worlds, " Well done ! thou good 
and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord !" 



THE ARTIST. 23 

Rarely does the world see in an artist more than 
his skill. What constitutes skill few can explain ; 
few, indeed, can understand in what it consists, if it 
were explained. Generally, practice is deemed 
skill. The differences between an ordinary and a 
great painter, or between an inferior and a superior 
poet, are regarded as differences o^ practice ! Rules, 
it is supposed, are in existence, by a persevering 
compliance with which any one may become an 
artist, and emerge from dim obscurity to broad light — 
may become, at last, a master ! 

The importance of rule, embodying the wisdom 
and discovery of experience in the past, and tested 
by the daily application of laborious diligence, is ac- 
knowledged. Rule is even necessary to skill. But 
he that reaches the summit heights in art, must have 
genius, and be a philosopher. 

Rules are only the expression of principles and 
truths, in their broadest shapes and forms. They 
present merely the tangible and visible ; they 
cannot embody what is ethereal and spiritual. What 
rules do show, is truth ; and what is formed in art, 
must have essentially all that rules contain. And 
the formation must have also what rules do not con- 
tain : it must have sometimes more — sometimes 
less — sometimes a difference and variety — and al- 
ways a vitality, a breathing spirit, not in the rules. 
That spirit must be bt^thed into the creation by 
the artist himself ! Indefinable things, and countless, 
rules cannot contain ; they were never made to con- 
tain them ! Sounds to move the soul with sadness, 
or joy, can never be evoked from an imperfect in- 



24 CHAPTER 1. 

strument of music even by a master's hand ; and 
yet, in vain does other than a master's hand touch the 
keys or strings of a perfect instrument ! The other 
may play by note and he may play by rule ; but his 
performance will be noise in comparison of the mas- 
ter's melody. 

The rigorous application of written and tradition- 
al rules sometimes produces caricature. Rules, 
more than these, are applied by the artist ; but they 
are formed by himself from recondite and elaborate 
study and insight into the inner nature of his sub- 
ject ; or, from an intuitive perception — the result in 
part of philosophic habits — he becomes, in novel 
circumstances, a rule unto himself. 

These remarks apply to the teacher. His raw 
material comes into his hands, all alike seemingly in 
most things, and really alike in many respects ; and 
all seem, to the superficial observer, fit subjects for 
the rigorous application of certain well-known rules- 
If such rules are only faithfully and perseveringly 
applied, education, it is thought, will be done on the 
whole mass, and it will, of necessity, be changed in 
due season into beautiful and useful fabrics ! 

The teacher knows better. He knows that vari- 
eties in species very great, and differences in the 
sorts minute and countless, will not be fitted to the 
obvious rules. He knows that the more inflexible 
the rigor of the application of rules in certain cases, 
the more danger of ruining the minds. If the teacher 
cannot now be a rule unto himself; if genius and 
philosophic power be not resident in him as in other 
true artists, he will mis-educate ! It may seem a 



THE ARTIST. 25 

small matter who teaches a school — but hundreds of 
children are utterly and hopelessly ruined by inar- 
tistical and incompetent teachers ! Small compara- 
tively is the ruin of a statue or a picture, to the 
ruin of a mind, either intellectually or morally. And 
yet men will laugh to scorn the pseudo-painter or 
statuary, and tolerate — tolerate ? — nay, will often 
prefer and more liberally reward, the pseudo- 
teacher ! 

It is passing strange, that often when a parent or 
guardian is about to commit a child or ward to a cel- 
ebrated teacher, with directions to examine the 
same, and to put him at such studies as shall be 
deemed best, and with a tacit acknowdedgment that 
the teacher is the one who can and ought to know 
and judge for others — it is strange, that often these 
persons, on learning the price of a true education, 
will, at the moment, change their intention and send 
the pupil where the educating can be done for less ! 
When convinced that a painter is the artist to do 
them upon canvass as they should be done, these 
men pay the price : a daub from an inferior artist, 
they will not have at any price — they would not be 
paid to receive such. And yet these game persons 
will choose a school where work is done a few shil- 
lings or even pence less ! It is a great matter that 
a yard of canvass be spoiled ! — it is nothing, that the 
mind and manners of a child should be ruined ! 

A school is sometimes called the world in minia- 
ture. This saying is true. It is an arena for the 
conflict of opposing and varying interests and pas- 
sions. Here emulation has its excitement ; ambi- 



26 



CHAPTER I. 



tion, its aim ; industry, its reward ; and sloth, its 
punishment. Selfishness, here, leads to ungenerous 
and dishonest behavior ; and benevolence here 
displays its spontaneous and disinterested love. In 
this theatre cowardice conceals its tricks, and 
chuckles in secret at its mischief; whilst chivalry 
does its achievements of daring, openly violating 
and apparently defying law, and yet not intending 
to despise authority. 

Badly trained, or wholly untrained, at home, and 
with no domestic pattern of excellence for imitation^ 
boys are too often cast, a species of incipient savage 
and ruffian, into a school community, just as some- 
times into the wider world, with a last hope that 
novel and exciting duties and pleasures, and other 
circumstances, may control evil passions, guide way- 
ward propensities into some safe path, and awaken 
the dormant sense of honor and virtue. Hence* 
many individuals, thus ungoverned at home in as 
many separate families ; undirected into any path of 
truth or virtue ; their corrupt propensities greatly 
developed and strengthened by indulgence ; are all 
congregated into a single family to be converted, or 
reformed, anj disciplined, and governed, by one man. 

What, then, shall he be deemed who controls and 
guides this mass of heterogeneous materials ? who 
rewards and punishes ? who turns indolence into dil- 
igence, dishonor into honor ? who out of nothing 
seems to produce something ? And all this not in 
one case, but many ; and where the current o( evil 
had received a steady direction and violent impulse, 
from long years of parental misrule and vice ! 



THE ARTIST 27 

The man that does all this, is the teacher. And 
that person concentrates in himself, and far beyond 
the conception of ignorance, all the essential quali- 
ties of the legislator, the judge, the advocate, the 
jury, the executive. And in him all are tempered, 
and adjusted to the peculiarities of the mass as a 
whole, and to suit the ever-varying shades of good 
and evil where results are partly accidental, partly 
designed — partly of malice, partly of mistaken sport, 
partly of selfish indifference ; and where offenders 
vary in age from early childhood to incipient man- 
hood ; and where some are tempters and others 
tempted ; and where the punishment suitable for one 
disposition would be scorned by another, or crush 
forever a third ! and where, govern as you may, 
the world around, not merely of ignorant and spite- 
ful persons, but of intelligent men, will say that you 
have governed wrong ! For all that have never 
governed a school, know usually how it should be 
' governed, better than the experienced. 

In view of the difficulties of his station, well may 
the teacher, adopting the language of an Apostle 
exclaim — " Who is sufficient for these things !" He 
that is truly what the competent teacher should be, 
is, in proportion to his degree of excellence, so far 
qualified to govern the world. Many a man, at this 
moment the head of a school, and occasionally the 
sport of fools, and the sneer of unwhipped insolence, 
is fit to be their master and teacher in legislation and 
statesmanship, as well as in morals, literature, and 
science. 

Were it the fashion for the men of schools, and 



28 CHAPTER I. 

the men of theology, to come down from their lofty 
pinnacles of pure atmosphere, into the dirty arena of 
political strife, and if such dared to fight with a 
demagogue's weapons, many a brainless coxcomb 
would slink away like a discomfited cur with a 
drooping and trailing tail. But " strive for mas- 
teries," this way, they may not — they cannot. The 
moral qualities of a teacher must be such as to cause 
eternal war with the unholy means of most political 
contests. Place, however, teachers in the halls of 
legislation, on the bench of justice, or in the chair of 
the executive — where their disciples and pupils 
often are — and, place them, without unworthy 
means, by which cunning unscrupulousness works 
and worms through filth and slime up to defiled and 
dishonored ofiice and station ; and an order of 
excellence should be visible, worthy all praise and 
imitation. 

In the estimation of the wise, moral virtues out- 
weigh the intellectual, and still more the physical. 
What has the nature of a gift, may be in itself beau- 
teous and admit many useful applications ; yet it is 
less praiseworthy than what is acquired and made 
one's own by self-exertion. The grandeur of moral 
courage is everywhere admired ; and the moral 
hero stands his own monument. But separate acts 
of heroism may not require such courage and vir- 
tue, as the tenor of a life, made up of continuous 
acts, unseen, unrewarded ! That is a great soul 
that can continue courageous in the way of any 
duty, when the forfeiture of his daily bread, and con- 
tempt and persecution, are the rewards of perseve- 



THE ARTIST. 29 

ranee. '^ Greater is he that conquers his spirit, than 
he that taketh a city," is taught by an inspired pen- 
man. In this greatness the teacher is eminent. 
Nor is his self-mastery on special occasions, when 
preparation may be made, and when important and 
distinguished witnesses are expected ; which circum- 
stances of excitement enable many an inferior man^ 
proudly for once or twice to conquer himself, and 
" give the soft answer that turneth away wrath." But 
the teacher's contests are endless ! The war of life 
with him is one enduring campaign ! There are no 
witnesses — nQ celebrity ! — save God and his own 
conscience, and the glory of the great day ! 

Be it remembered, how the anger of the human 
breast rises up, when attempt is made to point out 
faults ; and specially at rebuke, when the monitor 
insists, moreover, that the faults shall be amended. 
The softest voice, the blandest manner, the truest 
disinterestedness, will not always secure a monitor 
from the hasty expressions of petulance, and even 
from occasional ebullitions of wrath. Wound man's 
self-love with the slightest puncture — intimate the 
blur of the smallest blemish on his immaculate vir- 
tue, or the least abrasion upon the smoothness of 
its poHsh — and the keen sensibilities of the pierced 
spirit flash forth on the reddening face the flame of 
a deep fire within ! Or if self-command repress the 
outbreaking, the fire will burn with worse cankering 
of the feelings towards the censor morum. 

But that censor is a man of like passions ; and 
when, conscious of the purity of his motive, and the 
benevolence of his intention, and the dutv of his 



30 CHAFrER I. 

admonishing, he is met with frowns, and answered 
with reproach, is it ordinary excellence or an easy 
task to master himself and avoid " sinning with his 
lips ?" The man that can habitually thus conquer 
his own spirit, shall, when the voice of the trumpet 
summons him to battle in a just cause, and to face 
then the cannon's crushing tempest of iron hail, "in 
the imminent deadly breach" — that man shall, with 
a resolved soul fixed upon his compressed lips, and 
the measured step of the warrior march — Onward ! 
He had faced unmoved the frowns of indignant and 
contemptuous men, and stood calm amid the torrent 
of bitter scorn from burning lips ! — to honorable 
and sensitive souls, the edge of drawn sword and 
point of levelled spear are not so fearful. 

A man of this sort is the teacher. His war is a 
daily battle ! and a war without excitement and 
without honor ! He must ever " rebuke and exhort 
with all patience and forbearance." 

Beyond the daily and hourly conflicts of the 
school-room, is yet a harder conflict with a man's 
rebellious spirit — at those times when parental 
weakness, or vanity, or prejudice, or supercilious, 
ness, or ingratitude, or all combined, lead parents to 
an ill-advised and presumptuous advice and rebuke 
of the master himself ! — and this, where there was 
good ground to expect honor, praise, and even ap- 
plause ! Then one's own burning indignation would 
burst forth, were it not for the curb of iron, and 
the strong holding of a might gained- by long prac- 
tice. As it is, the spirit chafes within to madness 
and the wise man is near to the fury of a fool ! 



THE ARTIST. 31 

What are many parents, but children, themselves, 
of the larger growth 1 In such, the evil tendencies 
of childhood have become strengthened and invinci- 
ble ; while self-conceit and vanity supply the place 
of knowledge and skill. How should these, that 
never learned in early life, learn in maturity ? They 
are simply fixed in their ignorance ; and although 
they are too crooked to be straightened, they yet 
need a master to control themselves as well as their 
children. Many are, indeed, too old to go to 
school, who yet need a master. 

Theories of education are plenty. Every place, 
noted or obscure, abounds with lecturers on the art 
of teaching. Sometimes the creatures come in 
swarms, like the plagues of Egypt. Sentiments and 
notions are, therefore, nearly as plenty '' as the 
blackberries ;" and the whole population gather for 
themselves — not "grapes and figs," indeed, for 
such fruit is not found on " thorns and thistles" — but 
something very like " the apples of Sodom !" A 
school made up, consequently, of very diverse ma- 
terials, is commenced ; and the unfortunate master 
is blessed with a Proteus, in the shape of a public 
opinion, to help him do the educating ! His own 
theory, and all his experience and skill, avail nothing 
now ; he must obey the opinion of the neighborhood ; 
and that opinion varies with the arrival of every 
successive lecturer, who gives the advice gratis, 
and sells his booksellers' wares for money. The 
spirit of traffic adroitly infuses itself everywhere, 
and can turn all things into gold. " The blessings 
of education !" is a catch-word of book-men, even 



32 



CHAPTER 1. 



as " the blessings of liberty !" is, of the dema- 
gogues. 

What artist under the afflatus would endure 
schooling, in giving his thoughts the embodiment of 
the f^hisel or the pencil ! Who could suffer the un- 
taught pertness of sciolists to guide the touch of the 
master ! And all have notions about painting, and poe- 
try, and statuary, and music : all would dare to guide, 
if the studio were as accessible as the school-room. 
But the teacher may neither cease from his work 
because of his disgust, nor repay contumely with 
scorn. A sacred duty to God and man ever impels 
him onward. And his creations must be from materi- 
als not passive, but rebellious ; not inert, but restive. 

The necessity of forbearance on the part of the 
teacher ends not here. Be he ever so learned and 
competent — ever so industrious and indefatigable — 
let him with an unsellish spirit aim at being a bene- 
factor, and the public will not rarely affect to patron- 
ize him ! Alas ! nominal teachers so lower the dignity 
of the office, as to speak, in addresses from the 
rostrum and the press, of parents, whose sons they 
are creating — as patrons f 

When a professional teacher works with a grovel- 
linsr soul, and estimates the value of his school bv 
the amount of the quarter-moneys ; when he sinks 
into a mere workman or trader, and aims simply to 
give the money- worth, thou may he talk of patrons 
and of patronage. But the true teacher is the patron 
of society. He can do without the world ; but the 
world, if it would remain free and civilized, cannot 
do without the teacher. A true teacher can live, 



THE ARTIST. 



33 



in a hundred ways, without teaching — yes ! and live 
hetter — perhaps longer ; but with some such, there 
ever rings a cry, heard by some in a still nobler 
ofRce — " Wo is me, if I teach not !" 

Do we speak of patronizing a judge, or a senator, 
or a minister of the gospel ? or even a lawyer or a 
physician ? Do not these men, if true men, patronize 
society? Could society, constituted as it is, of the 
good and the bad, do without these persons ? On 
the same principles, it is utterly wrong to talk of 
patronizing a teacher. He pretends not to indiffer- 
ence respecting the pecuniary reward of his toil. 
He well earns, and has a right to it ; but the world 
should rejoice that he consents to labor at all, and 
pay him with gratitude. 

Let no one, then, insult our profession, by affect- 
ing to be a patron ; and let no teacher meanly lower 
the loftiness of its grandeur by a sycophantic fond- 
ling in miscalling persons who are deeply debtors 
to his labor and skill, for the excellence of their 
children. 

The teacher must stand in place of a parent and 
a minister of the gospel. 

Perhaps, all things being equal, a home education 
may be better than a public one. Still, under the 
most favorable circumstances, it admits a question 
whether any education can be complete that has, in 
no degree, ever been public. Reasons, more at large, 
will be assigned hereafter to show that, were it pos- 
sible, it yet would not be advisable to abolish public 
schools, nor to make domestic education so exclu- 



34 



CHAPTER 1. 



sive as to confine it to separate and individual 
families. 

Two things are certain : Domestic education, for 
the immense majority of children, is an utter impossi- 
bility : if these were not educated in associate and 
public schools, they must remain uneducated. And, 
again, in cases almost countless, children are, in all 
respects, safer in a school only moderately well dis- 
ciplined, than with their own parents. Not only are 
precept, example, restraint, discipline, all absent in 
very many families, but the opposite of these all 
abound ; and the children can scarcely be in a worse 
school than at home. It is a great blessing another 
school can be found ; and a great privilege for the 
majority of children to be sent to a teacher other 
than the parents. 

Doubt may, indeed, arise whether children from 
such families should be received by a teacher. But, 
first, let the reader consider the deplorable state of 
society if all unmannered and ill-disciplined children 
were refused ; and next, let him be told, if ignorant 
of the fact, that objectionable pupils do not belong 
wholly to what are deemed by many the poorer, or 
inferior classes. Experience tells a different story. 
Very generally the most unexceptionable pupils 
come from families inferior in walk, fashion, and 
station, and not rarely from families only a step or 
two removed from poverty. The indulged pet of 
affluence is always the sorest thorn to a teacher's 
rest, and tests his passive qualities to their utmost 
tension. 

The polish from becoming and costly dress, and from 



THE ARTIST. 35 

graceful exterior, may momentarily cheat even ex- 
perienced persons into a hope that the beauty with- 
out indicates a still greater beauty within ; but the 
illusion is soon dispelled when the pressure of study 
and law and implicit obedience is laid, like a yoke, 
upon the beauteous neck ; it immediately galls the 
untamed child, first into peevishness, and then into 
open rebellion. 

Good and bad, and from families differing in rank^ 
station and wealth, are, of necessity, usually com- 
prised in the same school. The most guarded cau- 
tion, and the nicest discrimination, and the most re- 
solute determination, cannot have *' a select school," 
in its best sense — a moral school. A " select school," 
as to numbers, is possible anywhere ; a " select 
school" of children, distinguished by certain supe- 
riority of dress and fashionable manners, may exist, 
where a monied aristocracy is dominant, or preva- 
lent ; ^ut a school of the perfectly good is impossi- 
ble. The name is innocently adopted by many wor- 
thy teachers ; but it is a misnomer. If it be con- 
sidered as a school for a few, or possibly, a school 
where some extraordinary rigor will be used to keep 
out the uncommonly bad, the name may be toler- 
ated ; but if it means to teach that such schools are 
necessarily purer in morals than larger schools, and 
schools at less prices, it is an error ; and sometimes 
it is impertinence, falsehood and arrogance. 

Inquiry would discover that whoever can pay the 
high price, is in general select enough for " the se- 
lect school." 

The less good are not to be excluded from the 



36 



CHAPTER I. 



advantages of moral and intellectual schooling. 
Even the vicious may be taught and reformed. If 
none but the good and v^^orthy are to be taught in 
schools — wo to the purity and the stability of civil- 
ized society ! Schools, then, are an unavoidable ne- 
cessity, as well as a national blessing. Whoever, 
therefore, means to avail himself of the moral and 
other advantages of schools, must take such with an 
alloy of some evil. It is a condition of civilization, 
that we must receive in many things good and bad 
united ; and that we must benefit our neighbors, at 
the hazard even of some injury to ourselves. We 
may not always flee from a sickly neighborhood. 
We must sometimes attend the diseased and the dy- 
ing, at the hazard of infection to ourselves. And so 
we are not always at liberty to educate our children 
privately, if without us, public schools cannot be sus- 
tained, and our neighbors' children are, in conse- 
quence, deprived of education both domestic and 
associate. 

We may not, of choice, seek infection either phy- 
sical or moral ; but we must not, in search of unat- 
tainable perfection, retire from "the men of the 
world." Far from us to say that, generally speak- 
ing, parents may not, if they prefer it, educate their 
children entirely at home, because they may, in other 
ways at the same time, aid in supporting other 
schools ; but it is by no means certain that children, 
sedulously kept from all contact with evil by a spe- 
cies of monastic home education, will firmly and 
successfully stem a deep and wide current of evil 
pouring for the first, and with an unknown and un- 



THE ARTIST. 07 

conjectured strength, full against the inexperienced 
boy sent forth from the parental or domestic study- 
room. 

Special reasons exist for making daughters ex- 
ceptions to the preceding remarks. Where possible 
let such always be educated at home, or near home. 
And yet, very often, all the reasons in favor of public 
and associate education for the one sex, apply in full 
force to the other. 

These remarks made, it is manifest that the teacher 
must sustain the office of a parent, and of a minister 
of the gospel. All the prominent duties of these 
offices pertain to his. The pupils must be regarded 
as his children, and, in some respects, as parishion- 
ers. Times are, when he must preach to them, as 
one watching for their souls, and held to render an 
account. He must warn, rebuke, entreat ; he must 
pray with his pupils in public ; he must pray for 
them in private ; he must love them ; he must re- 
joice with their joy, and mourn with their grief. 
Thus acting, he will soon find that teaching is a holy 
vocation ; that he may not, for light reasons, forsake 
it ; and that, if God would sustain him miraculously, 
he is bound to teach, as others are to preach, "with- 
out money and without price." 

The spirit of the age, in its blindness, finds analo- 
gies where there are none ; and hence, in its zeal 
for the division of labor, has in many places sepa- 
rated the intellectual and the moral. The latter it 
assigns to the parent ; the former, to the teacher. 
How the moral is to be done in education, when pa- 
rents themselves have no morals, and where the 
3 



2Q CHAPTER f. 

pupils never attend any place of worship, and are 
under no pastoral guidance, Protestant or Catholic, we 
are not informed. Some, most zealous for this curious 
divorce of mental trainings, are secretly indifferent as 
to the answer. The word moral, with these, is a 
mere catch-word. If the schooling be done accord- 
ing to law, morality may take care of itself. Knowl- 
edge, with them, and knowledge alone, is power 
enough for this life. The life to come is a dreadful 
necessity ! It is only a hated end of this life ! Any 
enactment, therefore, of a legislature, or any sove- 
reignty of a wicked public opinion, that shall make 
the intellectual culture the main or only culture of 
schools, is hugged to the bosoms of these pitiable 
men as a choice blessing. 

Some, however, who advocate this unnatural di- 
vorce, are misled by the adroit craftiness of the 
others ; and are led along, under this and that pre- 
text, as if by a string around their necks, silly sheep 
or bleating calves, to the butcher's knife. The nomi- 
nal Christians, as well as the genuine Christians, all 
hold that this republic cannot continue without a 
due admixture of morality and religion with our 
knowledge ; and he, therefore, who does anything 
to divorce the intellectual and moral trainings, acts 
absurdly. Many a man acts traitorously. The 
State ought to care for both alike. Public opinion 
that is against religious training in schools, is a 
usurper, and not a legitimate king. It deserves not 
a moment's regard. It is worthy indignant scorn. 

A man, it is said, may be shorn as to his chin, and 
its adjacents, by a happy division of labor, if one 



THE ARTIST. 



39 



skilful knight of the curled pole will keep a shop for 
lathering, and a brother knight, exactly opposite, a 
shop for the razor application — although, where we 
trust our throats to the edge of a keen blade, we 
may safely trust them to a foam of soap and water ! 
• Equally sapient the division of the mind between 
the operators. That is as much a unit as the beard; 
and he that may be safely trusted to do on it the 
one operation, may be trusted to do the other. An 
adroit intellectual operator can, in a thousand ways, 
operate morally on the mind, if he see fit ; in other 
words, he can lather and shave both, even where 
he affects to keep shop for one operation only. 

The man who pretends to teach, and basely agrees 
to be silent as to religion and morals, is, in the first 
place, not the most fit to teach even intellectually ; 
and he is not safe, since, if he teach not religion, he 
may infidelity ! 

Sectarianism is not taught in schools ; but, if it 
were, vastly better is any sectarianism than infidel- 
ity, or nothingism. If a boy has no creed of his 
own, let him adopt that of his master. And if the 
master may not teach the law of God, let him not 
dare to teach at all ; either let him wholly abandon 
his office, or, while the persecution lasts, " flee into 
another city." 

Turn we, now, to the teacher as an intellectual 
man. If highly cultivated mind, and the most ex- 
tensive learning in all departments of literature and 
science, bestow dignity, what class of persons is 
more to be revered than teachers ? Not rarely they 
are endowed with the noblest genius, and the best 



40 



CHAPTER I. 



talents ; and their excellencies find ample scope in 
the school-room. But, that very great learning must 
be acquired by many teachers, and may be by most, 
is plain enough to those who understand the variety 
and perfection always arising from repeated excur- 
sions into literary fields, and endless practice in 
using what is known. 

Supreme excellence, it is true, is usually confined 
to a few branches, or even one branch of learning. 
Yet, this branch is itself a host. It is perfect knowl- 
edge and adroit use of languages, or mathematics, 
or philosophy, or logic ; or, more frequently, per- 
fect knowledge and skill in all these ! Here the 
teacher pushes -his minutest inquiries to the ultima 
thule ! here has he, not dim and obscure vision, but 
accurate perception ! Here he is at home, where 
other scholars are comparatively ill at ease ! And 
when it is considered, that these subjects are princi- 
ples and powers, and not mere knowledges and facts 
aggregated, and yet disconnected, the mind of the 
teacher must be a store-house of as^encies and instru- 
ments, with skill to use any or all in a thousand 
ways beyond the applications requisite in a school- 
room. Who is ignorant, however, of the commune 
vinculum, linking together all branches of learning? 
The man that gets fair hold of one ring in the won- 
derous chain shall soon learn to pull forth and stretch 
out the whole ! 

Specially are many studies cognate — being united 
by a sort of cousin-german relationship. An intro- 
duction to one of the family leads to an easy acquaint- 
ance with the. rest. To how many Oriental cousins 



THE ARTIST. a I 

will not Hebrew introduce its familiars ? He that 
is intimate with Latin and Greek, may very readily 
be intimate with a dozen modern languages, and 
have a speaking acquaintance with another dozen. 
The abstract mathematician may wind his way with 
a sure thread through the mazy labyrinths of me- 
chanics, and not lose his balance on the dizzy 
heights of astronomy. 

All this we see daily in music. One class of in- 
struments renders easy the others of that class ; a 
knowledge of any keyed or stringed instrument, or 
of any wind-instrument, helps a person to play seve- 
ral analogous instruments. Persons are found who 
play perfectly on one or two instruments, and not 
badly on twenty others ! 

Teachers are not deficient in the esp^Ht du corps. 
Hence, while many are the questions asked by " fools," 
that wise men cannot answer, yet the willingness 
to answer such as the wise may, both increases the 
ability of answering, and makes the vulgar " won- 
der that one small head should contain so much !" 

Thus far, the remarks have tended to show what 
teachers may be — nay, what, in the nature of the 
case, they must become. That they should be such 
persons is desirable. The question is, are teachers 
such men ? Many men, of sight and fact, may be 
disposed to ask, *' whether all this is not a teacher's 
enthusiasm ; and whether he resembles not the 
worthy artisans in the besieged city, who severally 
supposed ' brick, leather, and iron,' to be separately 
the best defence for the walls?" 

Happy for the world that any class, or any indi- 



42 



CHAPTER 1. 



vidiial of a class, aims high. Happy if any strive 
to form themselves after the model of a fair picture 
even if the loftiest height be not attained, and mark- 
ed deficiencies be found in the copy. But, could 
we evoke from their classic shades, their Parnassean 
heights, and their academic groves, the mighty mas- 
ters of the Teaching Art, a convocation would as- 
semble such as earth never saw ! 

In that w^onderous assembly, kings of the earth 
would themselves be awed, before a sublimer maj- 
esty, and stand uncovered in a more august pres- 
ence ! Sages of the world, venerable with the pon- 
derous lore of hoary antiquity, and severe in the 
gravity of all philosophy, and grand in the ineffable 
dignity of thought, would there be seated in the sol- 
emn sanctity of gods, a second Roman Senate, to 
strike beholders with awe ! There would sit mas- 
ters in all departments of science and literature ! 
Men would be there, who, in the depth of retirement, 
had prepared law for the government of the world ! 
— men, who had abstracted and condensed principles 
for all that is startling in discovery, admirable in 
invention, useful in practice ! — authors, whose talents 
and rare genius had crowded libraries with tomes 
on all profound metaphysics and abstract thought, 
and all morals ; and, at the same time, had playfully 
scattered " thoughts that breathe, and words that 
burn," over the leaves of ever-changing periodicals ! 
and who, stooping from their loftiness, and staying 
in a flight through purer air, had furnished the 
school-room with books, by which children and 
youths could be trained in knowledge and religion ! 



THE ARTIST. 



43 



Behold there, also, men, the parents of legislation ! 
whose theories have been reduced to practice by 
their disciples, mighty statesmen and lawyers ! Be- 
hold there, in short, men to whom the world owes 
nearly alf valuable and lasting in sciences, arts, lite- 
rature, law, medicine, divinity, war — in all things ! 

The very names of some teachers are volumes : — 
Socrates, Plato — Reed, Stewart — Chalmers ! Our 
page could be crowded with a rich catalogue of 
worthies, who, during life, or a part of life, were 
teachers — Dionysius, Philippe of France, Southard, 
a Secretary of the Navy, Parr, Valpy, Arnold, Nott, 
Alexander, Miller, Wayland, McVean ! Add the 
distinguished women, such as Sigourney, Kirkland, 
Willard, and many beside : " Sed prata biberint 
claudite rivos !" 

That persons more or less incompetent and un- 
worthy, may be found in every department of teach- 
ing, from the meanest hedge-school to the noblest 
university, is true. It is also true that many crowd 
into the humbler walks of the profession, because 
they can do nothing else ; some, too, out of indo- 
lence, supposing a few shillings can be there picked 
up without bodily labor ; some from worse motives. 
But medicine has its quacks, law its pettifoggers, 
divinity its fanatics, and teaching has its pedagogues. 
Such fungi and poisonous accretions, black and foe- 
tid, are not, however, the stately tree itself to which 
they adhere. They may, indeed, for a while con- 
ceal the tree ; but when they are scraped away and 
removed, the beauteous symmetry of the columnar 
trunk appears. 



44 



CHAPTER I. 



Be it remembered — weeds spring and flourish 
only in suitable and neglected soil. In a truly en- 
lightened, liberal, benevolent, discriminating com- 
munity, quackery could not live ! " Like people, 
like priest,'' applies to teachers as well as to parsons ; 
and " The poor pay, and the poor preach," are com- 
rades in teaching as in divinity. When a society 
retails hackneyed jests and worn witticisms at the 
expense of an honorable profession, they are either 
too deplorably ignorant to know good teachers ex- 
ist, or too miserly to pay their just price. The latter 
is more common — the former not infrequent. 

But while blur and blotch deface the profession, 
and more especially in the inferior grades, it is hap- 
pily true, that in those grades are many men of no- 
blest genius and talent. Men are there who, after 
a severe and laborious apprenticeship, shall one day 
stand forth pillars and columns of matchless excel- 
lence and grandeur. Let them bide their time. 
Their light may now be small, but it is true and 
certain ; and at length it shall burn a sun in the moral 
and intellectual firmament. Be assured that they 
** shall reap if they faint not." 

In no profession is rigorous servitude in early life 
so indispensable to the honor and influence of mid- 
dle life and old age, as in this ; and the very fact of 
long years spent in its many toils, is alone proof in- 
controvertible of a superior soul ! The dishonest, 
the timid, the untalented, the selfish, fall away. The 
prize here is too spiritual, too distant, too lofty to 
keep their mean hearts always moved, and their 
ambition ever strained. Bid them pass into the herd ; 



THE ARTIST. ^e 

why -should they aspire to govern, who are fit only 
to serve ? 

Concentrating all that has been advanced, and 
allowing the whole to rest upon the balance, the 
profession of teaching, both as a science and an art, 
must, in importance, grandeur and dignity, weigh, 
with equal poise, against any other profession in the 
opposite scale, while it will easily outweigh many, 
either separate or united. It challenges the trial. 



3* 



CHAPTER II. 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 

Negative definition is often convenient.* Some- 
times it is necessary, and even required by courtesy 
and honor. Men may join us in a journey towards 
a common point, who would have either travelled 
alone or remained at home, had it been known that 
our intended route did 7iot pass through certain well- 
beaten or flowery ways. And not rarely, persons 
will continue searching for what is wanted, where 
it is not to be found, unless explicitly told that the 
thing is not there. The author and the reader may 
agree in much, but yet they may disagree in more ; 
and that in which they disagree, may be so essential 
to their good and agreeable companionship, as to 
render it important to be the first thing known. 

From such and similar considerations, we shall 
first say, what is not the end of teaching. The end 
is not to impart knowledge ; it is not to fit one to 
make money ; it is not to constitute a practical man ; 
it is not to fit a person for any one special trade, art, 
office, or profession. 

Here is an open avowal of rank heterodoxy ! 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 47 

Perhaps, however, after this candid denial of all 
that the vast majority deem to be education, some 
curiosity may have been created to know what else 
education can be. The author and his reader may 
yet agree. 

The test of most things is the Cui bono ? It is ap- 
plied, not to plans of education only, but to the very 
erection of school-houses, academies and colleges. 
Such find no favor in places, till their existence can 
be demonstrated to aid the value of surrounding 
property. 

As to logic, metaphysic, language, and many ab- 
struse topics, needed as discipline, the multitude say of 
them, as FalstafF of honor — '' Can they set a leg ? 
no : then I'll none of them." 

This selfish spirit separates the practical from the 
abstract, as if the latter were not the parent of the 
former ! The selfish, however, live by sight, and 
therefore by works, yet not their own — the works 
belong too thers. But they despise what is not seen ; 
and they can see nothing except the showy, the 
active, the bustling, the noisy. 

Whence comes the light of the practical, by 
which they see and work ? It comes from the spec- 
ulative. The thinkers lay out the work for the 
doers. These servants are, indeed, insolent enough 
tosneer at the comparative poverty of their masters ; 
for the practical imagine the life to consist in the 
abundance of possessions, and they cannot under- 
stand that the speculative may prefer the refined 
and absorbing delights of an abstract world, to 
money-making, money-spending, or money-hoarding 



48 



CHAPTER II. 



— main pleasures of the gross and merely active. 
And yet, when accident or experiment sends down 
from his height, occasionally, a well-disciplined spec- 
ulative man, to apply his own rules, such an one, 
after the slight errors almost inseparable from the 
awkwardness of first attempts at practice are cor- 
rected, such an one can contend always the best in 
the arena, and carry away prizes from hosts of or- 
dinary competitors. 

The abstract can be without the practical; but 
the practical cannot be without the abstract. When 
sun-light lingers after the sun itself has sunk below 
the horizon, while we rejoice in the farewell rays, it 
would be folly to say — " This light is sufficient ; 
why wish a sun?" It is equally absurd to say — 
*' Practice is the thing ; what is the use of specu- 
lation ?" 

Time was when speculative philosophy may have 
despised practice. Now science keeps an open 
house, and with regal munificence dispenses favors 
to all comers ; — magic wands, elixirs of life, and phi- 
losopher's stones ! To suit the impatience and im- 
pertinence of a money-loving and labor-saving age, 
science has even turned quack ; and extracting the 
quintessence of all subjects, she has put up morals* 
physics, politics, literature, yea, all things, in con- 
venient and portable forms labelled with suitable 
directions, so that anybody, though a mere child, by 
duly swallowing the distilled and filtered condensa- 
tion, shall in an incredibly short time know vastly 
more than his grandmother ! Alas ! the selfish pa- 
tients, or recipients of knowledge and wisdom by 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. ^g 

the patent process, when brim full, bray and kick at 
their doctors — they evidently deem themselves full- 
grow^n asses ! 

For a time, when the world began to roll in maj- 
esty over levelled mountains and elevated valleys, 
annihilating time and space, it was natural and easy 
to glide into mistake, by analogy. We transferred 
to the mind what belonged to the body ; and hence 
supposed that the general mind was moving faster 
than at any former period. Some, too, who could 
have sneered at Fulton and other speculative men, 
as mere thinkers, began to suppose themselves actu- 
ally flying, and seemed to leave the philosophers 
themselves away behind in a hazy distance ! Many 
moved with noise and thunder, and thought they 
were in the march of mind ! but alas ! they were 
only marking time ! — stirring, yet not advancing ! 

Practice, so improperly separated and unduly 
honored, was naturally followed by many and radi- 
cal errors in elementary education, both in the 
means and the end. For, if the practical is the 
main thing, and if practical purposes are countless, 
then must our training refer not only to practice in 
general, but to the separate ways and means by 
which a living is made, wealth sought, honor cov- 
eted, or pleasure expected. 

Hence what wonderous and sudden growth over 
all Alleghania of school plans and systems ! — the 
analytical, the synthetical, the inductive, the pro- 
ductive, the American, the North American, the 
South American, the Whole Continental American ! 
It was equal to a shower of infant frogs ! Schools 



50 CHAPTER U. 

too became nurseries ; and children fed on hashes, 
and minced meat of potent essence, composed of 
travels real and imaginary, and all history past, 
present, and future, bloated out under the new fat- 
tening process, in a few months, to the requisite 
practical dimensions ! 

Behold, too, the school-books of a mere practical 
age. Surely " of ma/an o- books there is no end!" 
They are, indeed, made, not written f Booksellers, 
if they would take the time, need not pay for the 
jobs ; but by the division of labor, much and every 
way, is gained. Systems and books are truly — pro- 
ductive ! Happy era ! two boys, may trade the 
same jacket between them, till each shall gain five 
dollars ! The same book-stuff may be hashed and 
cooked in a dozen different ways : — pictures now at 
the top of a page, and questions at the bottom ! — 
then, pictures and questions reversed ! — then, pic- 
tures in the middle, surrounded by a frame of crab- 
bed-looking questions in small type! Wonderful 
variety ! — it furnishes little and big potatoes to-day, 
and to-morrow, big and little potatoes ! 

And what benevolent regard for the intellectual 
shallowness of pupils and teachers ! — in minute 
directions when, and how, and how often, lectures 
are to be taken! — in tender appellations of the pupil, 
and the coaxing addresses and cheer-ups, as he ap- 
proaches a little up-hill pulling, and the winning 
smile of approbation, as a sugar-plum is bestowed to 
reward the toil ! — in the ingenious machinery for 
doing the literary, by which a clever boy puts in 
some words and out comes an essay, as easily as 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 5J 

you would make a gridiron ! — and lastly, for fear 
the shallows of subjects may possibly be too deep, 
in that exuberant love that furnishes peddling school- 
masters with keys. 

Man of abstraction ! put forth a work leading up- 
ward to the heights, or downward to the depths of 
a subject, and along its length and breadth. Hark ! 
from the " down-east " is a cry ! and it is echoed to 
the " far- west !" — " Too difficult for beginners — too 
speculative for practice — too aristocratic for repub- 
licans — too dear for the people/" Behold ! then, in 
due season, and almost simultaneously, forth come a 
score or two of convenient, nice, portable, cheap 
abridgments ! — and these, by other plunderers, in 
turn, re-abridged, and re-arranged, or re-pictured, 
or done with new type, or in patent binding, or with 
some adroit trick to elude injunction, till the thing 
suits the latitude of every college, academy, com- 
mon school, normal and abnormal, infant and adoles- 
cent, high, low, and middle, in the republic ! 

Learned and competent teachers there are ; yet 
not rarely does a self-styled master become tagged 
to a well-bepuffed system, and fly along with it as 
bob-tail to kite. Another buys a right to administei 
books or lessons from one to six ; and he will re- 
fund the monev. if the doses kill and do not cure — 
referring, however, failure to the lack of capacity 
in the patient, and not to any impotency in the sys- 
tem. Professors multiply, like doctors of divinity ; 
because the wisdom of the times, to prevent the 
overstocking of any one profession, multiplies the 
professions themselves, to keep pace with the in- 



Kg CHAPTER II. 

creased demand ; and in return, these professors from 
the people's college transmute men into philosophers 
and mechanicians, by virtue of set phrases, subtle 
gases, and mechanical powers. 

The practical, working spirit, is indignant at the 
idleness of mute vowels and dronish consonants, 
and hates the characters that monopolize a dozen 
sounds. Hence it has a new patriotic and demo- 
cratic alphabet, (or perhaps alphabets,) to spell 
things as they sound, and fix shadows forever ; so 
that the " monooments " of its glory shall look and 
sound the same until the end of time ! This fiffura- 
tive style amounts to talking and reading by short- 
hand ; and that is next to doing them by steam ! 

A class of narrow-minded persons, while disclaim- 
ing the intention of educating boys in the common 
schools for mere store-keepers, or farmers, and girls 
for mere mantua-makers, stocking-knitters, and the 
like, yet loudly contend for an education strictly re- 
publican. But of what should a true republican be 
ignorant, if knowledge is so important in education ? 
Is his information to be restricted to things of this 
continent ? Shall he be taught that all virtue re- 
sides on this side the water, and all vice beyond it ? 
Why must his education in any one respect be less 
extensive and liberal than that of Europeans ? And 
if a severely disciplined mind be necessary for the 
duties of a free citizen, how can a mind be properly 
disciplined but by studies the same as are employed 
in its discipline everywhere ? 

Formal lectures have been delivered before pub- 
lic institutions, to prove that it is not proper for 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 53 

American youth to imitate ancient patriotism. But 
what avails such a caution, if at the same time the 
Bible be excluded, or if men neglect its copious 
and decided instructions ? It is taken for granted, 
in all such excessive cautions, that nobody will or 
can think for himself — and, therefore, that the 
thinking must all be done for him. This argument 
for the necessity of withholding classical studies, be- 
cause of accidental injury to the weak and careless, 
from misapprehension and misapplication of ancient 
sentiments, resembles the papistical argument for 
withholding the Scriptures from the common peo- 
ple. And, indeed, if we abandon the discipline of 
the mind as the true and only education, it may be- 
come necessary to take from the unthinking every- 
thing in the shape of an edge-tool. 

But admit the false and narrow principle, that our 
S3^stem of education should form republicans, what 
is true repubhcanism? Different sections of the 
country have different standards of orthodoxy, in 
politics as in religion. Attempts are sometimes 
made to educate men as southerners, as eastern men, 
as western men ! And what is the effect, but to 
cultivate prejudice and engender strife, not towards 
other nations only, but towards the members of our 
republican family ? We lay thus foundation for 
lasting and secret dislikes, for clannish hostilities, 
as ruinous as ignorance or despotism. 

Look, for instance, at certain school-books com- 
piled on patriotic principles. A special section of 
the country is assumed as the true centre, around 
which others revolve, and the true meridian as to 



54 



CHAPTER 11. 



which all cHmates, cities, peoples, manners are com- 
pared and contrasted. The comparisons are, often, 
like that of comparing the size of a stone to a lump 
of chalk. This presumption may provoke a smile ; 
but what shall we do, when sometimes in such 
school-books appeals are made to ignorance and 
prejudice ? Pictures, we are told, give a condensed 
representation of the leading features of a country 
— its habits, tastes, pursuits, and the like. It is a 
time and labor-saving mode of acquiring knowledge 
and philosophy. In some school-books the South is 
represented by the picture of a negro under the 
lash ! or a planter on horseback, surrounded with 
his dogs ! — to intimate that cruelty and idleness are 
the characteristics ! And again, to show European 
nations at a glance, we have pictures of noblemen 
in sleighs, approving the dexterity of the driver in up- 
setting half-a-dozen common folk into the deep snow, 
and in spite of all their praiseworthy attempts to 
keep out of harm's way ! or pictures of pampered 
and lordly horses, most inconsiderately prancing on 
a prostrate beggar, who in self-defence (first law of 
nature !) is sticking up his wooden leg, not in defi- 
ance, but in a most piteous and implo-ring attitude. 
Alas ! hard-hearted urchins of the school-room 
oftener laugh than cry at such pictures. 

And this is repubHcan education ! We need do 
nothing in school-books to foster prejudices, or pro- 
mote political sectarianism ; weeds grow without 
culture. Better to cultivate a spirit of philanthropy. 
Grant us true teachers, with any or no system ; and 
provided the State will let such men alone, our chil- 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 55 

dren, during the intellectual training, can be in- 
structed in religion and morals ; and taught also to 
value our civil liberties above all earthly blessings — 
to die, if it must be, in their defence. The place of 
their nativity they may specially love, and certain 
employments they may prefer ; and yet they may 
be taught to make a home in that place whither, in 
the whole world, choice may lead or necessity drive ; 
and to regard other men's sinless occupations and 
recreations as equally honorable as their own. Our 
children should not be forced by partial systems to 
follow the trail of their ancestors, or to consider 
trades, arts, professions hereditary. 

Another class exists, not indeed narrow-minded, 
but, through the influence of the practical spirit, 
mistaken. These are willing to educate liberally 
and extensively, provided short time be spent in the 
process, and the greatest possible amount of all 
kinds and sorts of knowledge be acquired. In their 
hands, education becomes cramming. But, if possi- 
ble to crowd a gallon of water into a gill measure, 
it would end in the destruction of the receiver — un- 
less phrenological art devise some way of making 
heads stronger than nature. To this mistake, we 
owe the flood of school-books ; for, whatever this 
class of persons conceive important to be known at 
any time of life, is deemed necessary to be known 
in childhood ; and what may be needful for some, 
needful for all. Hence, in addition to the former stock 
of subjects, are books on mineralogy, conchology, bot- 
any, anatomy, geology, natural history, architecture, 



56 



CHAPTER II. 



infant chemistry, infant physics — perhaps, on swim- 
ming, riding, shooting, saiHng — and on shoemaking, 
tailoring, preaching, curing, lawing — and, what 
not? If a boy studied at school the mere knowledges 
for which school-books are prepared, he would, at 
even sixpence apiece, soon exhaust his purse, and 
require, not a satchel and a strap, but a wheelbarrow 
and a porter. 

We contend, that to impart knowledge is not the 
chief, nor most important part of true education. 
It is, in fact, no part of discipline. Without disci- 
pline, knowledge is almost useless ; not infrequently 
a folly and injury. Mere knowledge *' puffeth up." 
Rarely is it ever increased beyond the meagre de- 
tails of elementary books. The mind untrained, 
endless misapplications of knowledge lead to losses 
and constant derision. The " knowledges," as they 
may be called, are innumerable ; but rigorous disci- 
pline requires few books, and, after all the loud 
cry in favor of cheapness, it requires less price, and, 
if not a less, at least a definite time. 

We are ready, now, to say what the end of edu- 
cation should be, and what it always has been with 
the wise. It is to teach an art. It is to'create or 
form thinkers. The end of education is, the Power 
or Art of Thinking. By this art is meant, a state of 
the soul or mind in which it is Jitter fo^^ all and for 
more uses than in its natural state. Like other arts, 
this may be taught and learned ; and, like them, 
it depends partly on rules and principles derived 
from masters, and partly on its own exertions and 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 57 

practice. When the power approximates perfec- 
tion, the soul begins to see intuitively, and the pu- 
pil has what is termed presence of mind. 

When perfect, this art renders the mind calm, 
thoughtful, discriminating, prompt, energetic. It 
helps to see and weigh the absolute and relative im- 
portance of every subject within our scope ; to fol- 
low truth in what is new, and reject error in what 
is old. The soul, in possession of itself, hastens not 
to conclusions ; it sees the end from the beginning ; 
it counts the cost. We learn not to be amazed at 
the mighty achievements of human skill, ingenuity, 
perseverance : we scarcely are surprised. We 
praise and blame, not as schemes are successful and 
unsuccessful, but according to their intrinsic charac- 
ter at the hour of formation. Taught by this art 
self-knowledge, we make allowances for weakness 
and errors, arising from temptation, nervous irrita- 
tion, and irrepressible pains and anxieties. 

In our intercourse, this art becomes tact. This 
keeps us attentive to the minutest actions. To the 
discerning, a man of disciplined mind may be known 
by the way in which he walks, stands, sits, eats — 
by the way he takes up or lays down a book, opens 
or shuts a door, manages an umbrella, stirs a fire ! 
The art promotes politeness, order, decency, rever- 
ence, good will ; in short, " whatsoever is lovely and 
of good report.*' It puts a man in possession of him- 
self ; it gives him victory over his spirit ; it supports 
unostentatious dignity ; it prevents the oft-used plea 
of indolence, vanity, presumption, selfishness and 
folly, condensed in the formula — " Oh ! I never 



58 CHAPTER n. 

thought /" And it makes the man, when verging 
towards that apology, rebuke his own spirit, in the 
style of Chesterfield : " Why, you fool ! what were 
you thinking about, when you should have thought !" 

How shall this art be taught ? We answer, how 
does a wise master mechanic proceed with an ap- 
prentice ? Does he seek, and in the shortest possi- 
ble time, to fill him with knowledge on the subject? 
Does he simply tell the lad the names and uses of 
tools, and the different parts and pieces of a con- 
structed work ? and require the boy to commit to 
memory pretty little books of pictures and questions, 
to be recited like " a good little fellow," at proper 
periods ? Does the master read to the apprentice 
lecfures on the history of the art ? and by ingenious 
methods look for the " developments ?" Does he, 
in a word, allow the apprentice to be a passive re- 
cipient ? and when stuffed, set him up with an im- 
posing stock of ready-made articles, as are seen in 
a slop-shop ? No ; he makes the boy work, like a 
servant, with each and every instrument, from a 
jack-planing process up to the French polish ; and 
when idle and disobedient, he anoints him with an 
unguent well known in the common arts, if unknown 
in the chemical nomenclature — the oil of birch. 
And when the well-disciplined apprentice has- the 
whole subject wrought into him, and can think in 
and about it, the master furnishes the raw material ; 
and the boy, himself a master now, advertises inde- 
pendently for orders, and is ready to work after any 
model, new or old, or invent patterns of his own. 

We know how changes are rung on the popular 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 59 

doctrine, " Knowledge is power !" We know, too, 
the insufferable conceit of many well filled with all 
" the knowledges," who swell out as if filled with 
all power. But mere knowledge is not power ; at 
best, a power to be used only by men of thought. 
Men of mere knowledge are themselves obedient to 
men of thought. The man of thought can do with 
less knowledge than the other ; but he adds to his 
daily store whatever he deems useful. The Art of 
Thinking is power. 

Does any one suppose that the facetious gentle- 
man, who, when the ordinary means of pouring cold 
water over their heads, and pulling at their tails, had 
failed, separated the fighting dogs by emptying the 
contents of his snuff-box into their eyes, did this be- 
cause he had learned at school that " snuff, in suita- 
ble quantities, administered fo eyes and nose, is a 
good remedy for separating fighting dogs ?" No ; 
the gentleman so acted because .he was a thinker. 
Out of a dozen snuff-boxes present, not another was 
produced ; not that the crowd did not know that 
snuff would blind a dog and make him sneeze, but 
because they did not think of that peculiar applica- 
tion of their knowledge. When, therefore, this 
thinker retired from the applause of the people, say- 
ing, " Knowledge is power," he might have added, 
*' provided you think when and how to use it." 

Men of thought are, then, superior to men of 
mere know^ledge. Like the poor wise man com- 
memorated in the Ecclesiastes, men of thought may 
be disregarded in days of prosperity ; yet these only 
can save the city and the country in days of adver- 



50 CHAPTER II. 

sity. Noisy and conceited doers may affect to 
despise the others ; but men of thought are the real 
masters of the world, and that mastership is ac- 
knowledged in emergencies. Then they come from 
their retirement, and show how knowledge is to be 
used. It is of thinkers we stand in awe ; to them 
we do homage ; to them we go for light in dark- 
ness, guidance in prosperity, succor in danger. 
Their predictions are quoted as oracles, their senti- 
ments adopted for rules. The very concession that 
the rigorous course of elementary training, of which 
we shall presently treat, is proper for persons whose 
employments are regarded as rather mental than 
corporeal, shows that severe discipline is indispen- 
sable for thinkers. It seems to say, too, that, as the 
vast majority of persons are not to think, they need 
only knowledge of rules, or laws of action, to be 
furnished by the others, as masters to the servants . 

If proper discipline, however, can transform any 
into thinkers, who otherwise must remain mere 
agents ; if that discipline can cause many to approx- 
imate to the nobler rank ; are we tamely to relin- 
quish privileges, and do what we can by apathy and 
indolence, to create an upper caste ? Shall we be 
governed by an oligarchy, who exercise the most 
potent of all masterships, a mastership over our 
souls ? and who, if bad men, will exercise that for 
evil ? Granting that knowledge is a power, why not 
make it two-fold, aye, a thousand-fold, by adding the 
power of thought ? 

The art of thinking is not for the poor, nor the 
rich ; not for the mechanic, nor the farmer ; not for 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. gj 

the clergyman, nor the layman ; it is for all. It may, 
in some degree, be taught to all. True education 
is not to constitue the pupil a practical artist of any 
kind — a doer ; it does not make one immediately 
even a scholar. Education, while elementary, is to 
fit the pupil by training his mental powers for the 
subsequent instruction of masters in law, medicine, 
divinity, merchandise, politics, eloquence, poetry, 
painting, engineering, farming — in everything intrin- 
sically worthy of being styled an art, trade, science, 
profession. Nay, those very mechanical arts that 
put hats on our heads, shoes on our feet, and coats 
on our backs ; that supply bread and meat for our 
tables ; all such would be still more honorable and 
profitable if their masters were not mere doers, but 
also thinkers. 

Who can estimate the loss of time, the misdirec- 
tion of powers, the waste of material, the absurd, 
schemes in ordinary mechanical arts, from want of 
the power of thought ! How many fine estates 
have been wasted, how many characters blighted, 
how much good influence paralyzed, how many 
lives lost, how many governments overthrown — in a 
word, how much ruin, temporal and eternal, in 
every class of life, has ensued, not always from any 
special depravity, but simply from want of thought ! 

Proper elementary education prepares for the 
countless offices and duties of life, by far more diffi- 
cult and important than the duties of any separate 
art, trade, employment, or profession. The mode in 
which we gain a livelihood, is not the only way in 
which thought is to be used. Society claims us ; 
4 



CHAPTER II. 



and that society cannot be safe without the intellect- 
ual culture of its members. We shall act as pa- 
rents, as children, as citizens, as officers and law- 
givers, as select-men and counsellors, as trustees 
of corporations, as school-committees and exam- 
iners, as commanders of armies and navies — yes, 
we shall act in a thousand ways, when the interests, 
characters and lives of men depend, not on our ac- 
tivity, our industry merely, but on our power of 
thought. It is a wretched theory that confines se- 
vere mental discipline in primary education to a few ; 
for although, if the majority choose to surrender 
the right, a comparatively few thinkers may fill 
many offices of ruling and teaching, yet there re- 
main innumerable offices and duties, that unless the 
many are competent, must be either wholly neg- 
lected or badly filled and discharged. 

But if society did not need all its members, shall 
the delights of disciplined minds be denied to the 
mass ? Are men made expressly and only to saw 
boards, drive nails, polish marble, measure tape, 
drive oxen, rake hay, inspect ledgers, command 
ships? Are women made to study dressing, follow 
fashions, sew at cat stitch, make butter, milk cows, 
rub furniture, sweep rooms, alter bonnets ? When 
weary of all this, shall they sleep, or betake them- 
selves to frivolity or scandal ? Shall this be the an- 
nual round, year after year, tiW the end of life ? 
Shall the minds of these be forever occupied with 
what they shall eat, and drink, and wear, and gain 
and lose? Was the godlike spirit meant for this ? 
A disciplined mind would enable such to find count- 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. go 

less joys and refreshments at home ; and would do 
more than volumes of censure to destroy the ball- 
room, the theatre, and places of doubtful character 
and tendency. 

To the writer, an mdependent and deep thinker, 
who, master of any art or trade, mechanical, agri- 
cultural, or mercantile, adorns, improves, and makes 
it more useful to himself and the community ; and, 
ever and anon steps from his shop, his counter, or 
his field, to fill adequately some office of honor and 
trust, seems to stand on the same elevated plane 
with men especially deemed scholars and professors. 
This man is felt. He controls his neighborhood. 
He blushes no more at his means of livelihood, than 
men who live by the fine arts or by the learned pro- 
fessions. Nay ; as he is practical, he can do as well 
as direct. He is a light of the world ! He shows 
there ought to be two castes only — the industrious 
and the idle — the good and the bad. 

True it is, that, with the best discipline, the ma- 
jority will remain unable to cope with those whose 
very professions are conversant with logic. But if 
we may not move in orbits of the greatest ampli- 
tude, shall we, therefore, resolve to move in orbits of 
the least ? And if, with the best elementary train- 
ing, we may be inferior, how is it if we have the 
worst training, or none ? A man may not be com- 
petent to lead ; but he may be competent to deter- 
mine who shall lead, and whom he will follow. If 
that be the competency of the mass, we shall be in 
less jeopardy of becoming slaves of Rome, or any 
other infidel or anti-christian hierarchy, or despot- 



64 



CHAPTER II. 



ism. And from this slavery mere knowledge cannot 
save. Not only is a little knowledge a dangerous 
thing ; but, without an educated, disciplined mind, 
any or all knowledge is dangerous. 

Minds, like bodies, have varieties, sometimes wide 
differences ; and this, whether genius be separate 
from talents, or the special power of concentrating 
talents to one point, or for one object. No severity 
and excellence of discipline can, therefore, destroy, 
perhaps even lessen these distinctions. A mind of 
inferior order, if duly cultivated, will usually excel, 
in practice, an uncultivated mind of high order ; so 
a well-tilled soil, although inferior, yields a more 
abundant crop than a soil neglected, of a superior 
quality. A persevering tortoise crawls slowly, in- 
deed, but certainly, beyond a slumbering fox. But 
while different orders of mind, equally disciplined, 
go far beyond the progress of their undisciplined 
state, their original, created, and relative distances, 
in this life certainly, and possibly in the next, shall 
remain as really and visibly as the spaces between 
the forward and hinder wheels of the steam-car, 
while all yet roll onward obedient to the impulse ! 

Be the mind comparatively what it may, the 
power of thinking gives it self-possession ; and that 
mere knowledge received without effort, or with 
small effort, never does. In this state the mind 
craves knowledge as its pabulum and material, but 
with an enlarged capacity of acquiring knowledge, 
and ample room and skill to store the stock, with 
art to use it when needed. Even tools that would 
lie unemployed in other men's chests, who may have 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OB' TEACHING. Q^ 

some knowledge of their use, serve the disciplined 
better than untutored owners. Power of thought 
turns a small capital to answer the purpose of a 
large one, and laughs at the occasional prodigality 
of mere knowing. 

This valuable art can be learned. But the way 
is long and difficult ; not, perhaps, more so than the 
way through " the knowledges :" and yet well worth 
double the toil and expense of the popular method, 
if the intrinsic excellence and practical advantages 
of the art are appreciated. The mind must be long 
exercised in severe and rigorous studies. 

Is the soul equal to the body ? then ought the 
soul to be worth a discipline analogous to that of 
the body. Is it superior ? then ought we to blush 
at the preference generally shown for a bodily dis- 
cipline. The body is subjected to the discipline of 
the gymnasium in order to be formed to a graceful 
carriage, to obtain robust health, to acquire adroit 
motions, and to be competent to feats of dexterity 
and strength. What is the awkward gait of the un- 
practised to the fairy steps of the elastic dancer, or 
the arrowy flight of the racer ? what the cleaver- 
like hackings of a recruit to the lightning point of 
the swordsman ? Trained skill of weakness shall 
easily foil the giant efforts of rude strength. A child 
by the aid of his hands, can, in many things, excel 
an ox ; and what hands are to the body, so is the art 
of thinking to the soul. 

If the body, with the world's approbation, be sub- 
jected to a rigorous discipline, why should the soul 
be neglected ; or why be deemed unworthy pains 



66 



CHAPTER 11. 



bestowed upon the body ? Shall the clay taberna- 
cle, tumbling into ruins from the shock of its own mo- 
tions — a scabbard wearing from the keenness of its 
own sword — receive all the care ? and -that which 
becomes more alive from its very activity, and is 
destined to flourish forever — the undying soul, not 
be fully' prepared for the exercise of its noblest fac- 
ulties ? Surely the soul ought not to grope in dark- 
ness, to be appalled at imaginary danger, to be de- 
based by superstition, to be driven about by every 
wind of doctrine, to become a tool and a slave to 
the designing ! 

All feeling and argument, therefore, which favor 
the smallest degree of suitable intellectual discipline, 
separate from passivity, in the recipiency of knowl- 
edge, favor the highest degree. 

Let it be distinctly understood. The final end of 
intellectual discipline, is the largest possible capa- 
city to serve God. As we write in part for practical 
men, and some such have small faith and others no 
faithjWe remark, that, overlooking the true end, and 
regarding the secondary — practical advantages — no 
education so well secures that end as the one now 
recommended. We are willing to do again, what 
to a considerable extent we have done, in various 
ways, repeatedly — to submit the matter to the test 
of experiment. If possible, let two young persons, 
equal in all respects, he selected, and separately edu- 
cated ; let the period be for the same term of years, 
but not less than five nor more than ten ; let one be 
trained in the modern system of knowledges, and 
the other in any system of the severe old school, 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHLNG. Q^ 

rod-enforced, self-exerting, spirit-trying, patience- 
provoking, labor-causing, toil-producing, but spe- 
cially in the system directly to be recommended ; 
then, launch both the pupils, at the same time and in 
the same circumstances of poverty and destitution, 
into the troubled waters of life. The latter shall be 
seen swimming, or wading, or walking, as the tide 
demands or admits ; the former, floating, or driven 
at the mercy of the winds, mired or sinking ! Or 
let both pursue a professional or literary life. The 
truly disciplined, with even less knowledge, shall 
very soon excel the other in any assigned task ; 
shall, if necessary, excel him in acquiring knowl- 
edge, and this with so much ease, that ten years af- 
ter the academical training shall have ended, the 
world shall ascribe the differences, not to the oppo- 
site elementary trainings, but to differences in native 
intellectual powers. 

Turn we now to the proper system by which the 
art or power of thinking may be acquired. This 
system boasts no captivating name. It is not the 
analytical, the synthetical, the inductive. Nor is it 
antagonistical, opposing the Latin to the English, or 
the English to the Latin. It is calculated for no 
one meridian ; nor is it made specially for the great 
valley of the Mississippi, or any other great valley. 
The system — alas ! for its success ! — is not even a 
new system ! It has some antiquity in its favor — it 
has been tested by ages — and it is modest and sim- 
ple ! But, before naming our favorite method, let 
us look a moment at some leading things to be done 
by any intellectual discipline. 



Qg ' CHAPTER 11. 

And first, it is desirable to exercise and strengthen 
the power of attention. In proportion to the inten- 
sity and fixedness of the mind in contemplating ob- 
jects, the mind comprehends these objects : hence, 
other mental capacities being equal, success comes 
to one man from his attention ; failure is encountered 
by another, from want of attention. 

Next, it is desirable to cultivate perseverance. 
Even intense and fixed attention is often unavailing, 
because not long enough continued, and because 
not resumed again and again after repeated and 
necessary failures, and unavoidable interruptions. 
Perseverance is almost a talent, but it is an acquired 
talent, and must have an inexorable master to 
teach it. 

But perseverance itself may be wholly stopped for 
a season. Tools may not be at hand. Material may 
be wanting. Patience, then, must be cultivated ; 
for we must often wait, and without fretfulness, not 
only days, but even months, and years, for opportu- 
nities and other favorable circumstances. Success 
often depends upon our power of forbearing and 
restraining, as well as of acting. We must learn to 
suspend, but not relinquish, or abandon. We must 
bide the time. 

If, however, attention, persevering and patient, 
were always directed to one thing, or to one class 
of things, the mind would become narrow instead 
of enlarged ; and often a species of monomania 
would result — that of drawing all or very extensive 
conclusions from one or narrow premises. Caution 
and comprehension are, therefore, to be cultivated ; 



The science, or the end of teaching. gg 

and these, first, conclude not till after full examina- 
tion of cognate subjects, and next, hold the conclu- 
sions ready to be modified by subsequent discoveries. 

In cultivating the preceding qualities, or states 
of the soul, we cherish a state of contented reliance 
on probabilities. And this reliance is unavoidable ; 
but the undisciplined mind abhors it. Such a mind 
looks for absolute moral certainties. A spirit of 
faith is necessary to our success and happiness. 
The mere man of practice goes wholly by sight ; 
and what is not seen is not believed. And yet what 
is unseen is often nearer truth than what is seen. 
In patience we must learn to possess our souls. 

Again, the Aristotelian logic may not safely be 
despised ; still is it not sufficient for discipline to 
know the terms of that art, or to apply them to ex- 
amples in the text-books. Incessant practice in that 
logic is needed, till thoughts and words rise and flow 
in the logical channel between the banks of major 
and minor, to the harbor of just conclusions. The 
pugilist who attempts boxing by the rules of Men- 
doza's book, endeavoring to recall them after a few 
readings, with a friend who has practised the rules 
and long since forgotten the words and the very 
book, resembles a reasoner who merely knows, in 
logical combat with an opponent, who to knowledge 
has added experience, after a severe and rigorous 
practice. 

Nor let memory be forgotten. This faculty is 
capable of indefinite improvement, whether we re- 
gard its capaciousness or its tenacity. A very vul- 
gar prejudice exists in places against a good memory, 
4# 



70 CHAPTER II. 

because uncultivated minds of quickness remember 
things trifling in their nature, and empty out the en- 
tire cargo on all occasions. But memory in a dis- 
ciplined state may not only be vastly improved ; it 
may be made to acquire and store things useful, and 
such only. Without memory man would be like a 
merchant without a warehouse. A warehouse may 
indeed be crowded with stuffs of no value, but it can 
be filled also with articles the most valuable. In 
the disciplined state the memory is filled, however, 
not with details, but with rules. An undisciplined 
memory retains the very words of demonstration ; 
the disciplined retains the principles. Every teacher 
of the mathematics knows this distinction, as it is 
daily manifested by different pupils. 

A habit of order is indispensable, since by system 
and arrangement not only is every sort of work 
facilitated, but works differing and opposite in their 
nature can all be equally well done in their turn. 
Students, for instance, by an orderly arrangement, 
may study several languages, ancient and modern, 
and several branches of mathematics ; and also read 
history, travels, mineralogy, with the cum multis ; 
and yet be fair proficients as mere amateurs in mu- 
sic, or drawing, or both ; and have, beyond, time for 
company and recreation. No one need ever lose 
his health by being a very hard student : that many 
do, is certain, but it is not necessary that even one 
should. Indolence of mind, laziness of body, wil- 
ful rejection of what they know to be truth, kills 
students, with the aid of smoking and chewing. 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. tyj 

But hard study, with a proper arrangement, never 
yet killed any man. 

Nor ought the cultivation of taste, fancy, or imaor- 
ination to be neglected in elementary training. All 
these faculties may be excited and directed, in early 
life, by daily acquaintance with living or departed 
authors, long before we are capable of appreciating 
reasoninsjs about their nature. 

Such are some of the principal objects to be 
gained by a proper school discipline. To attain the 
end, we must find either many subjects of study, and 
these neither too easy nor too difficult, and which 
may be used, not as " knowledges," but as tools and 
instruments ; or we must find a class of studies with 
ample praxis for our purposes, and suited by pro- 
gressive difficulty to the progressive demands of 
the pupil. But it is of vital importance that this 
elementary system should be used by a master ; and 
the master should be such as has been drawn in the 
preceding chapter 

We are now ready to say that the system of ele- 
mentary education or discipline advocated and 
recommended, is the old-fashioned system of the 
dead languages, and the pure mathematics, as taught 
in the best schools of Great Britain, and, thirty years 
ago, in the best schools in -the United States. 

We leave out of view the mathematics in our 
further consideration of the system, as the tendency 
of the age, while mainly in favor of the mathematics 
because of the practical and pecuniary advantages, 
is yet not so adverse here to what is abstract, or 
rather, is willing to submit here to the almost una- 



-72 CHAPTER n. 

voidable abstract ; and because if any one can be 
persuaded to take the true course in languages, he 
by that act consents to the true course in mathe- 
matics. 

Confining, then, the view to the classics, v^^hat is 
proper instruction here from first to last, other than 
a series of incessant, yet ever-varied exercises in 
fixedness of attention ? in concentrating all the pow- 
ers and ingenuity of the soul, to read hidden mean- 
ings, ascertain relations, reconcile seeming contra- 
dictions ? in perseverance, where constant failures 
attend often repeated attempts to find probable 
truth 1 in patience, which resolutely waits for light 
from other quarters, and without which the present 
text is darkness impenetrable to the most perse- 
vering attention 1 What are here, but endless exer- 
cises of caution and comprehension, in surveys innu- 
merable, at every step, of the ground passed over ; 
correcting conclusion after conclusion, till the mind, 
having complete and accurate perception of the 
whole at once and of all its parts, settles upon a con- 
clusion derived from the entire truth ? And al- 
though the mind rejoices in its discoveries, it remains 
watchful, and ready for suggestions that may even 
yet modify. 

The proper studying of languages, under a com- 
petent teacher, (and very many professed teachers 
are wholly incompetent,) is an unceasing exercise 
in reasoning. Never is the full sense perceived till 
subject, and copula, and predicate, with all their ac- 
cidents, are completely understood and considered. 
And what nice discrimination in the meaning of 



THE SCIENLE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. 73 

words is requisite ! what minute inspection of par- 
ticles ! what vigilant care to detect exceptions — 
since rules are only general guides ! to say nothing 
of the many scrutinizing inquiries, and rational con- 
jectures instituted and paraded to make an errone- 
ous interpretation of a part harmonize with the 
probable interpretation of the whole ! Nor is the 
advantage to the mind the less, if one utterly fails in 
discovering the true meaning of a passage. Every 
faculty of the mind is brought into play, with 
more and more activity and determination, as the 
difficulty increases, and fear of failing begins, and 
yet hope of succeeding increases, because of re- 
newed and more invincible endeavors to find the 
sense. The use and practice of the faculties is the 
very thing that is desirable. He that must walk for 
exercise, may walk with almost equal advantage in 
any direction ; and if he set out with an object in 
view, he may fail in reaching a point, or gaining an 
eminence, or finding a place — but he has his exer- 
cise. Nay, if failure stimulates him to try again, or 
to look in another direction, and he exercises more 
— that repetition and increase of exertions are what 
he needs. 

All must concede, these studies do wonderfully 
enlarge and strengthen, and so to speak, correct the 
memory. Very much must be committed to me- 
mory ; and that to be quoted and re-quoted, in 
countless repetitions for months and years. And 
this matter is of the nature of general principles, 
applicable to all language ! Exceptions and re- 
strictions are necessary ; but the mind exercised in 



74 



CHAPTER II. 



hourly and minute exceptions, easily does this ever 
after. The order and arrangement of the dead 
languages in forms and changes of words, in struc- 
ture of sentences and subjects, make impress on the 
mind, never to be effaced. 

In all literature, w^here are any better models of 
everything imaginative, fanciful, impassioned, elo- 
quent, poetic, humorous ? Where better specimens 
of every kind of composition, through all their spe- 
cies, varieties, and sorts? But, if as good or better 
may be found in domestic literature, is that litera- 
ture all accessible to boys ? And what can the 
very best models avail, if not contemplated with 
long, uninterrupted, intense attention ? 

The preference for the system of education now 
recommended, is founded not on a belief that there 
is nothing equally good elsewhere ; but on the be- 
lief, that in this system all that is good and necessary 
in elementary training, is condensed and con- 
centrated into the smallest possible compass. It is 
accessible to all. A very few books comparatively, 
and at a moderate price, contain the instruments and 
tools and exercises of the whole discipline. These 
books are so arranged, that without making educa- 
tion for children a thing to be eaten as gingerbread, 
or sucked as sugar-candy, the first parts are level 
with the understanding of very young children ; or 
rather, while exciting curiosity and exercising inge- 
nuity from the first, the system follows the order of 
nature — it begins with memory rather than judg- 
ment — it is addressed to faith rather than reason. 

Subjects suited for foundation studies are, indeed, 



A \ 

THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. lyg 

in the English, but so scattered over many works as 
to be rarely available to schools. Nor is it probable 
such can or will be so reduced and arranged as to 
serve school purposes : the difficult would yet be 
too difficult, the easy too easy. Boys never stop to 
chop the logic for themselves, when, in text-books in 
their own language, it is already chopped and dried 
to their hand. The medium of another, and espe- 
cially of a dead and ancient language, is impera- 
tively necessary, to make the pupils pause, and by 
self-exertion, dig out the hidden sense, like a valua- 
ble ore, from the logical arrangement and connec- 
tions. So far from removing hindrances to the most 
rapid progress, such as that progress is, we wish 
just that amount of impediment in elementary studies 
which is interposed by the dead languages. To 
translate them, or make them too easy by notes, 
destroys the languages as instruments and tools, and 
debases them into " the knowledges." Against this 
spirit of the age in making everything plain, easy, 
captivating — truth so like fiction — we earnestly pro- 
test, and as loudly as one voice can cry. A child 
fed on sweetmeats and tid-bits, turns from plain and 
wholesome fare ; one ever carried in the nurse's 
arms, will have no use of its legs : so boys, trained 
as hundreds are, cannot but shrink from difficult 
studies, however important, and can have no relish 
for truth, unless it be also entertaining and exciting. 
Many an indolent boy and mistaken parent prefer 
that teacher, who tells, and explains, and carries the 
boy gently in his bosom, over rugged and ill-looking 
places; but they should for that very reason reject 



76 



CHAPTER II. 



the teacher. The boy thus put out to the dry nurse, 
will be a baby forever. His mind is ruined. The 
teacher should be prosecuted for an incurable dam- 
age. 

For some twenty or thirty years past, a popular 
current has been running against the study of the 
dead languages. The age that has no patience to 
allow seed sufficient time to vegetate and strike 
root before it asks for the fruit ; that craves knowl- 
edge first, and travels up the stream to the fountain- 
head of principles ; that props a roof, hangs down 
walls, and then underlays the foundation ; that, ad- 
vancing backward like craw-fish, reverses the 
natural order, so as to learn pictures first, then 
things, words, and letters, has no need for a class 
of studies so opposite as the ancient languages. 
And yet very little knowledge of Greek jests, (who 
had their Hibernian bulls,) would show some that 
their boasted philosophy is but the revival of an old 
theory, and that long ago men lived, who had re- 
solved never to enter the deep waters until they had 
learned to swim ! 

All objections against the old system, that it is too 
difficult, too tedious, too abstract, grant its peculiar 
adaptedness to intellectual discipline ; while these 
objections admit, in advocating the easier, if not 
shorter methods, that the mass of men is weak and 
selfish. Instead of elevating men by severe disci- 
pline, we thus depress education to their baseness ! 
This is levelling down and not up. Sometimes 
great progress seems, indeed, at first to be made, 
when rough places of learning are smoothed, its 



THE SCIEXCE, Oil THE END OF TEACHING. ^jfj 

mountains levelled, its valleys raised, for the con- 
struction of the educational railway ; but usually 
the progress is about the same as that of the child 
taught to spell by pictures, or " things," as the book 
said, instead of the primitive, roundabout way — the 
sounds of letters themselves. " What does that 
spell, dear V said the father, covering the picture 
with one hand, and pointing w^th the other to the 
name printed in capital letters below. " Cow," was 
the immediate answer. " Why, how do you know ?" 
'' I see the legs." 

In many places the dead languages are profess- 
edly studied. But there is reason to say, that while 
in a few colleges and academies efforts are made to 
retain, or restore, the severe and rigorous method of 
learning them, or at least to resist farther innova- 
tions, yet in most schools the mode of going over — 
studying it cannot be called — of going over the 
classics, is tantamount to an utter abandonment of 
the languages as a discipline. This aggravates ex- 
isting evils, for many obvious reasons, and is a dis- 
paragement of these very studies. If not used as a 
discipline, the dead languages should be ivholly 
abandoned as a school study. Unless as a discipline, 
the time is worse than wasted that is bestow^ed. 
The knowledge gained by a proper and severe 
study of the languages is very great ; but the 
knowledge acquired by the superficial method is 
contemptibly small : if knowledge only is the end 
of education, either let the classics be rigorously 
studied as a discipline, or at once entirely aban- 
doned. All superficial schools and schoolmasters 



78 CHAPTER II. 

are, here, an unspeakably great nuisance — nay, if 
the paper were stained with nameless epithets, 
such epithets would not be unjust. 

Pupils do, verily, go over the whole course,, and 
beyond too ; but, as tourists frequently go over a 
whole country and into the adjacent parts, in cars 
and steamboats, such pupils can only say a jour- 
ney has been taken. In the mind of the one, is 
a dreamhke jumble of streaming fences, and patches 
of grass, with human faces, mountains, tavern-bills, 
hissing steam, ice-cream, boot-jacks and oyster pies ! 
In the mind of the other is a mixture of Cicero with 
Helvetians, and Cassar with Latin verbs, and De- 
mosthenes with the first declension ! 

The mania for simplifying — to coin a word, for 
halifying — rages here, as in other parts or systems 
of education. Copious dictionaries are rendered 
more copious, and easy ones still easier ! nay, every 
author has prepared for him specially, a special dic- 
tionary, till a lexicon nearly equals a translation. 
Indeed, the notes to many books, with the diction- 
ary, are both a literal and free translation. Often, 
too, translations are furnished, some in appendices, 
some in separate books, and some interlined ! An- 
alytical and synthetical written exercises — that in- 
dispensable tool in strengthening the mind and en- 
larging all its powers — are rare. Few, very few 
graduates of colleges can put even the Latin words 
of Mair's Syntax into proper construction ; and not 
one in a thousand can make English sentences into 
Latin. Graduates who take first honors pay a price 
for Latin salutatories ! and students of divinity beg 



THE SCIEN'CE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. ^Q 

and borrow Latin exegeses ! Examination is a form 
— perhaps an hypocrisy — certainly a farce ! 

None but invincible difficulties, and obstacles in- 
surmountable, should, in school-books, be lessened 
and removed ; and these should be so done that the 
instrument of removal should itself require mental 
labor to work it. Let it be a lever — but not self- 
acting ; let it be like a pump-handle, at which the 
condemned criminal must diligently labor or be 
drowned. Be it constantly remembered, that it is an 
inwrought, deep-seated habit of studying, and think- 
ing, and working, that is wanted — a habit not to be 
eradicated — a habit or state, that can be destroyed 
only by the annihilation of the soul ! We know that 
we are behind the age, and yet, not that we cannot 
catch up — it is because we will not try ; and hence, 
at the hazard of being pitied, we aver, and, shame- 
less, confess, that the Latin ordo, the Latin notes, 
and the Latin definitions, in Greek lexicons, is a bet- 
ter way to learn the dead languages, and to become 
thoroughly disciplined in a thousand ways, than any 
of the improved methods, from Hamilton to Arnold ! 

Let it, however, be specially noted, our remarks 
all refer to school-books. In these knowledge is 
not the main end — we use them for discipline. But 
in after life, when we use Latin and Greek authors 
for literary purposes, we may seek for aid in all 
quarters ; knowledge is now wanted. Here we re- 
quire copious dictionaries, and all kinds of note, com- 
ment, and opinions and conjectures. The wants of 
the school-boy during his elementary training, and 
the wants of the man in his profession as a literary 



80 CHAPTER If. 

man, are totally different. Many recent works are 
almost priceless in value to the man of literature, 
that are a bane to the school-boy. The learned au- 
thors meant well, but they have done disciplinary 
education no service. 

Thus far the course advocated has been consid- 
ered in its disciplinary character only ; and in this it 
would be of incalculable value, even if no knowledge 
were acquired, and, like the gymnasium and its ap- 
paratus, it were laid aside after having answered its 
elementary, purposes ; but very extensive and very 
important knowledge, and exact and permanent, by 
the difficulty of its acquirement, is attained during 
the study of the dead languages. Grammar, in its 
widest sense, history, geography, astronomy, archi- 
tecture, polity, war, manners, gardening — in short, 
everything of the ancient world, its philosophies, 
arts, religions, may be named as subjects, of which 
knowledge must, of necessity, be gained. And until 
it is shown that the history of the past is useless to 
any present age, we may avail ourselves of the 
knowledge acquired, as a collateral argument in fa- 
vor of our educational system. But the important 
consideration here is, that a disciplined mind can add 
to its ancient stock, all modern knowledge in much 
less time than the undisciplined mind. For instance, 
a good classical scholar can learn, as far as the read- 
ing of books is concerned, any modern European 
language in a few months ; sometimes in a few weeks ; 
sometimes in a few days. Languages, like the Span- 
ish, Portuguese, Italian and French, he can read, 
with a grammar and dictionary, almost at sight. 



THE SCIENCE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. QJ 

Things, too, regarded as studies, he looks on as read- 
ing, and uses as recreations ; such as botany, physi- 
ology, natural history, mineralogy, chemistry, his- 
tory, antiquities. He sports, too, with some things 
the undisciplined fear — logic and metaphysics. The 
true secret of immense learning lies in the entire 
mastery of some grand principles ; and persons 
rigorously and unsparingly disciplined in youth, are 
nearly the only persons that have that mastery. 
And such have a foundation of broad and immove- 
able rock, and upon that they may build wide and 
high ; their superstructure will stand. 

Some parents resolve to give their children a clas- 
sical education ; but, after they have received an 
English education. If what we have written be 
understood, such parents can scarcely fail to see, 
that this distinction between educations, classical 
and English, is an error. Education is but one. It 
is partial, however, and complete. If it comprise 
the classics it is complete ; and, therefore, it has its 
beginning as well as its ending ; and that beginning 
is in the languages themselves, or rather in the La- 
tin. In case, therefore, any parent has determined 
on the complete course, every hours delay in be- 
ginning with the Latin, after the child shall have 
learned to read and spell fluently, to write an ordi- 
narily good hand, and to commit with some readi- 
ness to memory, is worse than lost. Spelling, read- 
ing, writing, arithmetic, English grammar, and geog- 
raphy — add, also, composition and speaking — these 
are considered as elementary English studies. Now, 
experience here abundantly shows that the great 



82 CHAPTER II. 

majority of mere English pupils, after years of seem- 
ingly assiduous attention, and with good and com- 
petent teachers, rarely become fluent and thorough 
in these branches ; the pupils reach a certain point, 
and there they remain, and usually in utter disgust at 
. all schools, schoolmasters, and school-books ! Ama- 
teurs in music, who play by ear, or learn from a 
book, advance thus, with flute, piano, or violin, to a 
certain inferior grade of skill, and then, like a bird 
that builds its nest the same every year, these ama- 
teurs play forever one tune ! Doubtless, many com- 
petent classical teachers fail here ; yet these may 
so order matters, as hundreds have done, that all 
the elementary English studies, and many studies of 
higher character, provided parents will have pa- 
tience, and will aid in the attempt, shall be entirely 
mastered by the time the elementary classical dis- 
cipline is ended. 

The mind finds relaxation in turning aside a few 
hours daily from the severity of the disciplinary 
studies to the lighter English branches. Hence, 
with comparatively little labor, such branches are 
pursued at the same time, while the mind, without 
being rendered indolent, thus returns with fresh 
vigor to the main study of the school. And thus, in 
the same time, and for one price, the pupils are prop- 
erly educated, and acquire all the English ordinarily 
acquired by other boys, who, during that period, 
pursue English branches only. 

So confident is the writer, from experience, that 
such is the case, that he is sometimes tempted to 
imitate nostrum-doctors, and to offer, provided there 



THE SCIE.N'CE, OR THE END OF TEACHING. go 

be no interference with the course of learning, to 
refund all the tuition fees, if boys, during the classi. 
cal cours3, shall not have studied, and studied bet. 
ter all the branches of English pursued in the same 
time by boys of like age and capacity. 

Every consideration, therefore, of economy and 
utility, is in favor of the system of elementary edu- 
cation recommended ; and v^^e may hfre conclude 
the subject. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE 'M)OLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 

No error is more mischievous than to mistake 
illustration for argument, and yet no error is more 
frequent. Illustration does no more than place what 
is to be considered in a sufficient light ; but, when 
placed in that light, what before was deemed truth, 
may be discovered to be falsehood. Analogy is thus 
a fruitful source of error. Often one thing resem- 
bles another in but a single respect ; in other re- 
spects the things may differ greatly ; they may even 
be, in some respects, opposites. But from the strong 
resemblance in one point, it is hastily concluded the 
subjects may agree in all ; and by applying the 
same rules to both, the results in practice must, of 
necessity, disappoint expectation. 

The teacher is an artist. As a workman he, 
therefore, needs tools, and tools must be made for 
every branch of his business. A skilful artisan, 
moreover, prefers patent tools — instruments so in- 
geniously contrived that a boy may do the work 
of a man, and the daily labor of a man equal the 
labor of a week. The work, too, by such instru- 
ments, is better done. It is done, also, at less cost. 
How natural the transfer of all that pertains to the 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 



85 



mstruments of one workman to the instruments of 
the other ! The teacher must have tools not only 
suitable, but so ingeniously designed that by their aid 
he may employ an apprentice, and turn out scholars 
in a few months, that, by the use of old-fashioned 
tools, could not, by the master himself, be manufac- 
tured in as many years ! Nay, his tools judiciously 
used, and in favorable circumstances, will per se 
work up his raw material into the best fabrics !- — 
and education may be done almost by the yard, and 
nearly as cheap as domestic cottons ! 

That school-books differ, and may be classed as 
good and bad, no man doubts ; that a teacher will 
prefer the better to the worse, is self-evident ; but 
that any book, or series of books, can obviate the 
necessity of a teacher's direct efforts, and the skil- 
ful employment of his genius and talents, is the blun- 
der of many book-makers, and of not a few teachers 
themselves. 

The excellency of a school depends, not mainly, 
but wholly, upon the teacher. One competent and 
faithful master, with books illy prepared or with no 
books, is worth many incompetent teachers, aided 
by the best contrived books and systems. The 
army of stags, with a lion for general, can chase the 
army of lions, with a stag at the head ! An honest 
mechanic, with proper instruments, and by implicit 
obedience to his directions, must when diligent turn 
out work not a whit inferior to work done by me- 
chanics greatly his superior in talents and ingenuity, 
who use the same instruments or apparatus : the 
machinery would, in fact, perform the same with 



86 



CHAPTER m. 



any attendant ; it can but act well^ if it move at all i 
Gunpowder equalizes powers : a dwarf and a giant 
would fire a cannon equally well — the ball strikes 
with the same force, whoever may be at the touch- 
hole ! 

This is not so with books and boys ! JYo school- 
book has any intrinsic force which will always exert 
itself in the same direction, as soon as it is opened 
and read, or even studied. The book does what 
the master intends, not what the author designs or 
wishes. And the boy, be well assured, ye theoreti- 
cal gentlemen, that have never wielded the ruler, 
nor flourished the birch, and yet teach by book — be 
assured, the boy is not that pliant, non-resisting ma- 
terial that runs into one grooved aperture a shape- 
less mass, and, transformed by some hidden power, 
runs directly from some other smaller aperture, a 
ready-made man and scholar ! No ; verily, if like any- 
thing mechanically wrought, he is like a mass of rough 
iron in the potent grasp of a blacksmith's tongs' 
He needs many a heat in a furnace, and many a 
twist and twirl, and many a hard knock from a dex- 
terous hand, before he is transmuted, and before he 
will remain changed ! 

Boys differ in a thousand ways — in age, intellect, 
temper, industry, health, domestic training, and ex- 
ample and excitement : wind, rain, sunshine, sum- 
mer, winter — all affect them ! No classification can 
possibly comprise individuals alike, save in a very 
few general features ! Children cannot be thrown 
as one sort of grain into a mill, and ground as the 
same grist ! 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 



87 



Very many either will not, or cannot, perceive 
the truth on this point. Failure is repeatedly attrib- 
uted to the want of certain books, and forms, and 
systems ; when almost invariably the failure is ow- 
ing to the want of the right kind of teachers. But 
renewed failures only tempt fresh inventors — if such 
they may be called — to contrive new books, or, 
more frequently, to alter old ones ; and then, with 
the most adhesive obstinacy, to insist with teachers 
on a trial ! Unworthy motives are not necessarily 
to be suspected or attributed to all such book-makers ; 
yet it is manifest that many people, neither original 
authors nor practical teachers, are directly and indi- 
rectly interested pecuniarily in the production of 
school-books. And the enormous prices such can 
afford to pay for newspaper advertisements and edi- 
torials, is presumptive proof that the business is not 
wholly profitless. The columns of advertisements 
paid for by the year, in several leading papers at 
the same time, is a pretty fair index that a nostrum- 
doctor finds sales for his pills and plasters ; and yet, 
from the frightful increase of panaceists, diseases of 
the most deadly character, and in spite of the infal- 
lible cures, seem to be multiplying ! So many of a 
trade could not make fortunes if the diseases were 
all stayed or eradicated. Nostrum-book doctors 
augur badly for the health of learning ! 

Happy for the world, that the cause of education 
is prominent ap'iong the great causes of the age ! 
As a natural consequence, school-books become ob- 
jects of intense interest. Scholars, liberal and ele- 
gant, moralists the most severe, and philosophers 



88 



CHAPTER III. 



the most profound, have all lent assistance in the 
writing and arranging of school-books ; and, there- 
fore, it cannot be wonderful that works of great 
excellence, in every department of elementary edu- 
cation, abound. But, while improvement here may 
have been needed, and while improvement may have 
been made, yet improvement in the artist or teacher 
himself would have done more for education than 
any improvement in his instruments of teaching. 
Had many eminent men, instead of writing school- 
books, betaken themselves to teaching school-books ; 
or, if they had not, for the sake of writing, aban- 
doned teaching, schools would have been still 
better. 

Of the two sorts of learned men who make school- 
books, they who have been teachers must be certainly 
the better qualified for the task. However learned, 
if the authors have had little practical acquaintance 
with teaching, and almost invariably, if they have 
had no acquaintance, their books become mere store- 
houses of knowledge. But if a school-book contain 
all the principles and rules of a subject, literary or 
scientific, that is a good book, although it give no 
knowledge beyond what is essential for illustration 
and praxis. Any knowledge beyond is not essen- 
tial to the purpose of the book. Yet, not very rarely, 
while the principles are all in the book, they are so 
inartistically involved with the mass of mere learn- 
ine^ as to defv bein2^ disentnno-led. The book is a 
valuable book, but it is a bad school-book. 

We have heard it said of a crabbed and petulant 
old man, " He forgets that he was ever a boy." So 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 



89 



it is with some authors of school-books. They for- 
get how their soul loathed a text-book overloaded 
with notes, observations, comments and exceptions. 
They forget that they never voluntarily read such, 
and that if the master wished to find exceptions, and 
learned annotations, he might look for them himself. 
They forget how, again and again, master and 
scholar were alike bewildered in a thorny wilderness 
of endless annotations, laced and tangled with subor- 
dinate note and comment, and exception to excep- 
tion, and blackened with daggers, single and double, 
and paragraphs, sections, parentheses, dashes, brack- 
ets, till rule and exception struggled for the guid- 
ance, and comment seemed of more importance 
than the principle it explained ! Or, perhaps, an 
author, remembering all this, determines to be 
avenged on another generation ! perhaps, remem- 
bering how, in some idle urchin's dog-eared book, 
he had turned from page to page, till somewhere 
near the starting-point he found written, *' A fool 
for your pains !" Thus a malicious author sends 
boys turning through his whole volume, by means 
of references, from spot to spot, till he finds what 
he wants, and that a wonderfully small needle in an 
amazingly large haystack ! 

Some authors cannot be said to overlook the main 
intention of a school-book, for the books made by 
them are designed to display their own reading ; 
and a text-book is a convenient nucleus around 
which to heap all they know. These men cart and 
wheel whole masses of learning from the great 
quarries of ponderous folios, and empty load after 



90 CHAPTER m. 

load in this and that spot ; here and there heaping 
up piles of unwrought bullion ; and every now and 
then scattering gems of value ; in certain stations 
placing indices to direct one's search to different 
heaps of the stolen treasures ! 

Widely and loudly vaunted are books and sys- 
tems of instruction built on the principle of induc- 
tion. But, while something may be conceded in 
favor of arithmetic and algebra, arranged in books 
on that principle, yet, with due deference to the in- 
ductive authors, induction belongs to the man and 
not to the boy. Boys are made to be directed and 
governed in an elementary course of education ; and 
it is a matter of very little consequence either in 
itself, or to the boys, whether the process of induc- 
tion, on which rules and principles are formde for 
their incipient guidance, be understood or not. 
Rule and authority are admitted by young persons, 
and generally they are indifferent to their reasons. 
The attempt to show their foundation is uncalled- 
for — it not unfrequently unsettles the children's 
faith ! The master who begged the king to remain 
uncovered in his school, while the master himself 
retained his own hat, that the pupils might think no 
one in the kingdom superior to their teacher, well 
understood the nature of boys ; and his boys consid- 
ered him superior to all inductions — his word was 
their law. And they knew that whatever he en- 
joined was founded in reason, and that, in due sea- 
son, they would fully understand what was now 
childlike, received in faith. 

The application of the inductive method in form- 



THE TOOLS AXD INSTRUMENTS. gj 

ing some school-books, such as grammars, rhetorics, 
and the Hke, is preposterous. And where less pre- 
posterous, the parade of facts before resting down 
in the rule, is an egregious trifling — an affectation 
of philosophy, eminently disgustful. And how, 
pray, do young persons, especially children, better 
understand by studying examples and illustrations 
before the rule, than after the rule ? And that is, in 
most schools, the amount of the inductive method. 
What is this but the fulfilment of the vulgar pro- 
verb — " The cart before the horse ?" True — the 
boy who sees the cart may infer the horse ; but what 
advantage is this, beyond the natural way of infer- 
ring the vehicle from the quadruped ? This is un- 
shackling the mind ! forsooth. This is breaking 
away from the tyranny of authority ! This is the 
light of " seven suns" in one day ! Courage — ye 
priest-ridden ! modern philosophy will soon publish 
the ten commandments, with an illuminated page of 
induction ; and then shall ye see the reasonableness 
of the divine will ! And then, when the reasona- 
bleness of virtue is seen, all rational persons will of 
necessity become virtuous ! 

In the rage for induction, old land-marks in school- 
books are all removed. Nothing is to be taken for 
granted, except the assumptions^ often, in the induc- 
tion itself; even where the rule is as plain as any- 
thing else, perhaps plainer. Is " I think, therefore, 
I exist/' better than, *' I exist, therefore, I think T' 
In which is less assumption — " Twice one is two," 
or — '* Two is one and another one ?" To a child 



92 



CHAPTER lU. 



two is two without either formula ; and perhaps an 
extensive induction would start a doubt whether 
two were not something else ; as one by a labored 
proof of his existence will come to have logical 
doubts whether he either thinks or exists ! In all 
things, we need a starting-point — a fulcrum for a 
lever ; and that, in school-books, are rules and prin- 
ciples which the teacher knows are the embodiment 
of truth. Children confide in his judgment ; and 
that confidence is necessary to their improvement. 

In some books the inductive process is by piece- 
meal ! The disjecta membra of a little plain rule 
are scattered over a dozen pages ; as if one took 
delight in tearing the picture of a baby to pieces? 
to show how skilfully and anatomically it could all 
be constructed again, somewhere in the middle of 
a book, as well as if never so ruthlessly torn !' 
True, the boy saw, at first, it was a baby ; but how 
could he be sure it was, unless he examined a foot 
on one page, and a hand on another, and came to 
the baby again by induction ? The first declension, 
or the first conjugation in the Latin grammar, as 
^ither exists in all the ordinary methods, is short, 
easy, perspicuous, and to almost every child of the 
usual capacity, so great a novelty, as to be learned 
with pleasure — sometimes to be devoured with 
avidity ; and yet in Arnold's system, this brief and 
pleasant unit is cut up and scattered into a dozen 
little bits ! — and each bit is made a bitter pill, coated 
with sugar ; as if it could not be sw^allowed other- 
wise without effort ! And then, when all the parts 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 



93 



are separately swallowed, the poor child finds, nev- 
ertheless, that the whole must yet be swallowed at 
once ! 

We are told that such systems are agreeable to 
the order of nature ; and that m a given time more 
is learned and better than in the usual methods. 

The order of nature begins with the memory, 
and exercises that, almost exclusively, for years. 
One's own native tongue is simply heard and re- 
membered, as far as words are concerned. A child 
imitates and remembers any sounds of articulate 
speech. But his style and the extent of his vocab- 
ulary depend upon accident. He talks almost like a 
parrot, precisely as he hears. He learns sounds, 
or words, proper or improper ; and provided the ut- 
terance, in any way, of such sounds answers his ex- 
pectations, and procures what is needed, and keeps 
off what he fears, he is satisfied. Of grammar and 
logic he learns nothing, he cares nothing ; and for 
all the ordinary purposes of life he need neither 
know nor care anything. The vocabulary of very 
many adults comprises not more than two or three 
hundred words ! Some men do not use more than 
a hundred nouns and verbs in all their lives ! and 
these are mis-pronounced, mis-spelled, and con- 
structed according to a syntax of their own — an 
idiosyncratic grammar, whose figures of speech 
consist in earnest gesticulation and motions of the 
face, to render intelligible what it is suspected the 
words employed have failed to make plain. 

If we would teach beyond this, it must be by 
teaching principles and giving rules. It matters not 
.5* 



94 



CHAPTER m. 



whether orally, or otherwise, little of our native 
tongue, beyond the point just named, is acquired 
without rules and lessons. Much, indeed, is learned 
by children without rules and lessons ; but it bears 
only a small propoi'tion compared with what is 
learned of the true nature and genius of the lan- 
guage, in the same time, with these helps. 

But whatever may be learned of the language by 
imitation and mere memory, here is a very great 
difference : we learn Latin through the medium of 
our own language ; we learn our own without a 
medium. To imitate nature fairly, our knowledge 
of English should be entirely obliterated, and we 
should then be placed in a Latin atmosphere ! And 
what would even then be gained ? Do we wish to 
talk, and read, and write in Latin, the first thing ? 
And if we did all this from imitation and memory, we 
should be no better acquainted with the philosophy 
and logic of the language than myriads of others are 
with the nature of the English. Notwithstanding as- 
sertion to the contrary, children — English children — 
taught to talk, and read, and write Latin, by English 
teachers, in the way recently proposed as the order of 
nature, will be inferior to other children taught in the 
usual way, of equal age and capacity, and equal ad- 
vantages, in the same time. The time should, how- 
ever, not be less than what is mutually agreed upon as 
a reasonable period for the mastery of the language ; 
for while superiority does belong to any time, how- 
ever short, that superiority could not be made appa- 
rent to others, in the shortest time. In a race the 
victorious horse is for one or two rounds, often, ap- 



i 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 



95 



parently beat ; the advance at the coming-out de- 
termines the victory. 

This order of nature, as it is called, does well 
with pupils who have thoroughly mastered one an- 
cient language. Such carry with them the instru- 
ments of mastering almost any other language ; and 
it would be folly, indeed, to forego their advantages 
for the sake of beginning every time at the begin- 
ning. Many things are altogether proper for adults, 
which would be unsuitable for children ; and hence, 
while we might favor Ollendorff's method for disci- 
plined minds, and especially for such as were versed 
in the nature of grammar, we should deprecate it 
for children that need discipline, and particularly 
in reference to the Latin and Greek. 

The sudden popularity of all these often-repeated 
attempts of changing plans tested by ages, is owing 
to many accidental circumstances ; but in regard to 
the dead languages, it is, in part, owing to the in- 
competency of so many teachers of the languages, 
and the deplorably little depth and accuracy of their 
pupils. Hence, Vv^hen comparison of results is 
made, the new method, having superiority over the 
old method misunderstood, and not properly em- 
ployed, is at once lauded to the skies ! In medicine, 
quackery often triumphs in places, because professed 
members of the medical faculty are themselves in 
those places little better than quacks ! 

The old, time-honored method pursues the order 
of nature, by exercising principally, at first, the 
memory ; not by storing it with mere knowledge, 
but rather with rules and principles. If such are 



96 



CHAPTER in. 



not learned soon, they cannot easily be learned af- 
terward ; partly because the mind is not so capable 
if undisciplined, and partly because of our im- 
patience at later periods of committing to memory 
what we do not fully understand, and yet think 
we understand. Undisciplined minds will not com- 
mit ve7'bati7n ; and yet that mode is in many sub- 
jects almost .indispensable to future success. Chil- 
dren that are not mis-managed, and rendered indo- 
lent and pert by vain attempts to make them philo- 
sophical, care not what they commit to memory ; 
and they commit difficult words and sentences, al- 
most as readily as the opposite kind. Multitudes of 
English w^ords are as hard as Latin ones : it would 
scarcely be possible to find Latin and Greek w^ords 
half so hard as thousands of words in geography, 
botany, physiology, natural history ; and which are 
required, not merely to be pronounced, but to be 
committed accurately to memory, and by children 
little advanced beyond babyhood ! The time spent 
(may it not be said wasted ?) in committing geogra- 
phies, would, in many cases, if spent in Latin, have 
easily and fairly put a child in possession of all the 
essential forms and rules of that language ! 

Many writers of school-books aim to delight chil- 
dren by familiarity, sprightliness, anecdote, and the 
•like ; bewailing the barbarity that compels to severe 
and laborious study — when all might be such a pleas- 
ure ! Why point to a steep hill, with a rugged as- 
cent and thorny path ? when the darlings could be 
so sweetly coaxed up an insensible inclination, 
pausing here to eat a peach, and there to smell a 



XHE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 97 

rose ! and, ever and anon, reposing a few moments 
on the grassy mounds near moss-crowned fountains 1 
and regaled with the song of beauteous birds, feath- 
ered with rain-bow glories ! till, in a delirious thrill 
of dreaminess, the innocents found themselves on 
the pinnacle of all learning and science ! 

It may be well enough to amuse in education, as 
a pastime ; but let once amusement become a 
means of discipline, and children will not study at 
all. Like all other responsible and moral beings, 
these must find, if not the whole, yet their chief 
their daily pleasures and enjoyments, in duty and 
obedience ; and earn the good of learning, as all other 
goods, by the labor and sweat of the brow. Any 
book, or system of books, that obviates, in any 
degree, that necessity, so far counteracts the law 
of our nature. They weaken the mind, they unfit 
for the fierce and endless struggles of life. 

How far pictures may go in the way of proper 
excitement, the author for himself cannot say : his 
own experience has found them neither good nor 
evil, except that they are always evil when they 
give false or exaggerated views. If parents choose 
to pay a few additional pence for pictures in school- 
books, for a momentary gratification, or that the 
urchins may touch and re-touch in their idle 
moments — be it so. Booksellers have a right to 
live. — A friend of the author's w^as principal teacher 
some years since in a Sabbath school. Once, in 
his office, he was lecturing a class of three little 
boys, on the final results of idleness. He held in 
his hand a penny pamphlet — the dying speeches 



98 CHAPTER ni. 

and confessions of three murderers. The title-page 
was very tastefully embellished with three forms 
something like the human — that distant resem- 
blance Taylor loves, in boys' pictures ; and these 
forms were mournfully dangling from one gallows ! 
My friend marked the deep and solemn hush of the 
class ! The truth was silently sinking into their 
softened hearts ! Why not ? there was the picture 
of punishment — natural consequence before the 
very eyes ! He warmed more with benevolent 
love — (he was a noble-hearted sailor) — he poured 
forth his full soul, and looked with moistened eyes ! 
Alas ! the innocent little darlings peeped into his 
face — and one, with a comical expression in his 
laughing eye, and with a finger pointing to the pic- 
tured tragedy, said : " Mr. M., don't them look like 
three dried herrings ?" 

The effect of the most solemn pictures in chil- 
dren's books, is not, always, precisely what the 
teacher wishes. But pictures and questions are 
hobbies of the day — we must ride, even if we do it 
backwards and forwards, without advancing : — and 
these things do add to the value of the books ! 

Far from us to say, school-books admit no im- 
provement. Improvements have been made. Un- 
necessary dryness has been relieved by sprightly 
illustration ; the forbidding frown has been relaxed 
into a smile ; the knotty points have, in a measure, 
been disentangled ; needless difficulties removed ; 
roughness and barbarism of style have been smoothed 
and civilized ; and many judicious helps have been 
furnished, for which laborious and pains-taking 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. gg 

teachers should be thankful. And yet we would 
gladly have retained in Latin grammar, the barba- 
rous verses ! They jingle yet in our ears ! The 
noble linguists of by-gone days owed them much ! 
We would welcome back this exploded method of 
fixing the rules and exceptions in the mind ! — yes ! 
fixing it was ! as if all were graved with the point 
of a diamond on adamantine rock ! If boys learned 
not to write and speak Latin in three months, before 
they understood the language itself; they did, at 
the last, come to translate Greek into Latin, to 
parse in Latin, to recite grammar in Latin, to read 
annotations in Latin, to translate any English author 
into Latin ! and to commit Latin poets to memory 
as if they were a native tongue ! 

Few, in the fervor of improvement, can stop. 
Because some things in the school-books are wrong, 
all must be changed. Excellent books, one after 
another, disappear ; and under plea of greater im- 
provements, the latest improved works give place 
to stronger pretensions. Each roars and flashes 
like a rocket — and, like a rocket, falls to the earth 
in dying stars, amidst the gaze and uproar of the 
crowd, crying for something still more brilliant ! 

The mania for changing prevails even among 
original authors. These will not allow their school- 
book to pass to a new edition without essential al- 
terations, and sometimes not for the better. Hence, 
not rarely teacher, pupil, and parent are thrown into 
an agony of fume and fret, it being not possible to 
class pupils for more than a few months with the 
same book from the same author ! Except for the 



100 



CHAPTER lU. 



impolicy of the measure, it is bearable that original 
authors should change their own works ; but when 
the compiler, the abbreviator, the clarifier, and all 
other tricksters and plagiarists, seize on works of 
originators, and after cutting and carving enough 
for serving up as a first course — that these miserable 
appropriators should, under this and that pretext, 
print a new edition every year, with alterations — that 
is intolerable ! What ! when the whole subject is 
before them, all the materials prepared to their 
very hands, the thinking all done, and the mere ar- 
rangement to be made, cannot these geniuses make 
a book so near perfection, at first, that it may last 
for some ten or twelve years ! Cannot these indus- 
trious little ants bring enough from their neighbors' 
heaps of corn at once ! And yet, when so many are 
swarming and boiling in the pathway to the trea- 
sure, all cannot get everything, and each must 
make a book from what he can grab ! And then, 
when his own book is manufactured, he must labor 
to show the public that the other booksters did not 
get the best material from the heap ! and whilst all 
others have drawn from the same storehouses, they, 
forsooth, have culled error only, and he the "truth !" 
A difference in spelling a dozen words, or in six 
definitions, or in a mode of counting time, becomes 
a sufficient reason for a new book on the same sub- 
ject, and quarried from the same original authors. 
Then for the movement of heaven and earth, till 
the new compend shall displace the old ! Editorials 
pronounce the last the best ; learned men and shin- 
ing lights, hitherto not known and unseen, make 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 1Q| 

their dehitt in recommendatory notices, flashing forth 
in graceful periods and studied elegance ; and 
agents, with oily smoothness and the flippancy of a 
circus-master showing off' his beasts and birds, or 
liis monkey rider and stunted pony in the ring, pour 
out their voluble praises in ipsissimis verbis; — till 
the- younger teachers are effectually humbugged ; 
the timid ones compelled to bite at the guzzle ; and 
even the knowing ones either bribed by presents, 
or yielding to importunity, are silenced and gained. 
One would think, to hear some agents empty out 
their lecture of prepared and set phrases, that, pro- 
phecy to the contrary notwithstanding, the millen- 
nium could not arrive till the universal adoption of 
some new spelling-book, or some new arithmetic ! 

Prudence should doubtless restrain the pen in 
wanting, here ; and yet one could not exceed the 
truth, if he wrote with a sharp pen dipped into 
an ink of wormwood and gall ! In a lynching com- 
munity, some pirates would be flayed alive ! And 
yet, under the protection of the segis law of libel, 
these plunderers can carry off* in the open face of 
day ; and they are so unblushing as to demand 
praise, when they should stand in the stocks ! Agra- 
rianism is not confined to acres ; and white men 
disguised as red Indians, play the savage in the 
fields of literature as well as of agriculture. 

In some branches of learning, are certain time- 
honored text-books, whose authors are long passed 
away ; and these books are so intrinsically valuable, 
that, in all the changes of the day, they nevertheless 
maintain their place in schools. Such books it is 



102 



CHAPTER m. 



lawful to correct, and now and then to modernize. 
Still, it is to be regretted, that many changes in 
these are from whim ; and although such changes 
do not affect the intrinsic excellence of the works, 
they prove very perplexing to the teacher, who 
wishes to drill his pupils as he himself was drilled. ' 
In this case the very w^ords of rules, and the former 
arrangement of the whole subject, are part and par- 
cel of his method. A finical taste pretends to give 
him more elegant tools ; but the master prefers the 
feel of the old articles, that he had long handled with 
speed and dexterity. Why should he wish better 
implements ? He defies the fanciful modernizer to 
do, with the tools improved, work any better than 
before. 

But when a change is made in the fabric of these 
time-honored text-books, it is almost invariably a 
bad change. It adds raw cloth to the old — it makes 
worse rents — it destroys old bottles with new wine • 
The impertinence of working-in our own crudities 
with the sterling matter of an author's text-book, is 
surpassed only by that of mending the poetry of the 
great geniuses — a trick performed every few years 
with Christian psalms and hymns, under plea that 
worship will be more acceptable if the poetry be 
more fashionable ! 

It may possibly be startling to some, but many 
know it to be true : — a text-book needs not be per- 
fect ! Nor is it at all important that everything 
belonging to the subject should be crowded into the 
book. And, spite of the fear about misleading 
children, one way of wording rules is, in many sub- 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. ]^Q3 

jects, just as good as another. The rule cannot be 
fairly understood till it is repeatedly apphed ; nor 
then, without the teacher. And when rules are 
well understood in all their extent, and with all their 
exceptions, they may be laid aside, or forgot, or 
changed by the disciple himself. Ignorance of all 
this, as well as vanity and presumption, and some- 
times " the love of money," have as much to do with 
the alterations of standard text-books, as a benevo- 
lent regard for the pupils, and the wish to promote 
true learning. Such remarks may be deemed se- 
vere ; but if such could prevent the conduct com- 
plained of, the ill-will they beget could be more 
cheerfully encountered. Indignation will speak, 
even when it knows the words will not be heeded. 

The inquiry may now^ be made as to what con- 
stitutes a good text-book, specially in regard to 
schools and academies. 

In some subjects it matters little about the plan. 
They may be variously and yet equally well stu- 
died, and commenced in many different ways and 
places. Of this kind are spelling, reading, and ge- 
ography. But in other subjects, one mode of begin- 
ning is almost indispensable : such are mathematics 
and languages. Yet, in general, it may be said that 
elementary text-books should be — 

1. Brief, If the end of discipline is to indoctri- 
nate in principles, the text-book should contain little 
beyond the principles. But many text-books are 
naked in principles and stuffed with knowledge, or 
contain the principles diffused and diluted. Some 
are mere scrap-books, or a kind of school album ; 



2Q^ CHAPTER 111. 

full of opinions and sentiments of many authors col- 
lected, but not condensed. Others are mere nuclei 
for the aggregation of the autlior's learning — a sort 
of buzzing hornet's nest, with wrapper after wrapper 
of all sorts of things, real and imaginary, about a 
small twig. Many are but miniature cyclopedias. 

The difficulty in the way of the necessary brevity 
arises, in part, from the wish to make a text-book 
for all sorts of schools at once. If primary schools, 
academies and colleges could be, either by compact 
or law, kept distinct, honest men could and would 
make suitable text-books. But the insane spirit of 
an ultra-democratical and abolition sentiment, is at 
war with distinctions. It demands inexorably a 
dead level. It would have lands, houses, education, 
religion, pleasure, all alike for the mass ; and indus- 
try, skill, and perseverance, that would naturally 
place one above another, must be decried and in- 
sulted. It says nothing shall be special, private; 
everything shall be common, public. It allows a 
community, but not an individual. It is as tyranni- 
cal, cruel and despotic as the most absolute and bar- 
barous monarchy ; it will bend the individual man 
to its will, or trample on all his sacred rights, sport 
with his tenderest feelings, yea ! stamp with its iron 
heel upon a man's very heart ! " The people ! the peo- 
ple ! liberty ! liberty !" is its watchword and cry ; 
but it is the people as a mass, as an abstraction, as a 
soulless body conventional, and liberty to live and 
act as a crowd ! Individuals and individual liber- 
ties it abhors and destroys ! 

Behold the tendency of this spirit as to schools ! 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. JQ5 

Common schools affect to equal academies, and 
academies to equal colleges ! A single teacher in a 
school with one hundred elementary pupils, professes 
himself competent and ready to carry the whole 
from the a, b, c, up to the f, i, n, i, s of the topmost 
university ! For a few shillings, he will do what 
elsewhere requires many hundred dollars and a 
dozen masters in literature and science ! The hero 
has caught the spirit of the age ! He swells out 
with the bigness of the conventional man ! He is 
as large as the million ! Here is a frog expanded 
by steam ! He teaches by electro-magnetism ! — the 
rich and poor alike — and just as well whether with 
or without books and breeches ! 

And then the colleges, in despair or revenge, or 
in self-defence, step down voluntarily from their 
places, and with a pitiable, scrambling avidity, 
gather up the half-fledged younglings of the inferior 
departments ; and, finding them too weak for a flight 
in upper air, brood over them with motherly wings, 
and feed them with delicate grubs, till in due time 
they launch forth their graduates to flap awhile 
with sheepskin wings, but, alas ! soon to fall down 
undistinguished among the many ! 

Is it wonderful, then, that money-loving authors 
and booksellers joyously avail themselves of this 
state of things, and make books that will do for all 
schools ? And how can the disinterested make a 
distinction in the text-books, when distinction exists 
not in schools ? 

Books for elementary instruction in primary schools 
and academies, should, as a general rule, contain all 



106 



CHAPTER m. 



the principles, with important exceptions, and have 
matter enough for ample illustration and praxis. 
Books for colleges may differ, because in colleges, 
in addition to the text-books, lectures are employed 
as one medium of instruction, and fewer questions 
are asked than elsewhere. Besides, pupils should 
be beyond the elements when they enter college ; 
they are now ready for the philosophy of their sub- 
jects, and therefore their books may be more diffi- 
cult and contain more knowledge. The hbrary of 
the college may furnish what is omitted in the text- 
book. 

As to libraries for primary schools and even acad- 
emies, they serve more for recreation than study. 
Not rarely are they pernicious. If the master knows 
his business, there can be little want of other than 
the school books. The hours not devoted to rigor- 
us studying, should be honestly devoted to playing ! — 
yes — to good, wholesome playing ! — to running, 
jumping, laughing ! Play is a duty for a hard stu- 
dent ; and if he will play, fairly and conscientiously, 
at the play hours, he cannot be hurt by any hard 
studying. The library may be well enough for the 
master, but the boy has no business with it. In- 
deed, libraries in academies are either locked np 
from one end of the year to another, or more usu- 
ally are soon torn and scattered. Money spent for 
them has been wasted. Besides, there are in all 
places town libraries, and almost every private fam- 
ily has a domestic library ; and if books for recre- 
ation have to be bought, they can be had, such as 
they are, for next to nothing. 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. IQ7 

Let a boy be well prepared for college before he 
enters, and he may read a little there, and with 
profit ; if not designed for college, let him remain at 
the academy, and teach and read ; if he goes to a 
trade, let \i\u\ work and read ; but if he read before 
these times, and during the period of severe study 
and discipline, he becomes almost invariably a ped- 
ant, often a mere idler, and very often an insuffer- 
able coxcomb. 

We are aware that all this and much more in 
these chapters is deemed heterodoxy ; but in a far- 
off imitation of Patrick ^ Henry, we say — If it be 
heterodoxy, make the most of it. 

2. Elementary text-books should be precise. 
Whatever else be cultivated, we iiiust, in education 
worth the name, cultivate the memory. Rules and 
principles should evidently, then, be expressed in 
short sentences, and with the most appropriate and 
comprehensive words. What must be committed to 
memory should be wholly detached from inference 
and exception, and should never be loaded and 
embarrassed with parenthetical explanation. The 
page should contain all that is to be committed at 
the time — and nothing more. Boys do not like to 
leave w^ork behind them ; and experienced teachers 
know the difficulty in bringing back scholars to 
commit something omitted at the first going over. 
Better that rules or paradigms not needed at first 
should follow in natural order, than be placed im- 
properly. We do not like to leave forts occupied 
by the enemy in the rear of an advance into the hos- 
tile territory. We conquer and garrison as we 



108 CHAPTER III. 

proceed. And when we make a road, it is folly to 
leave behind parts unfinished. All this applies 
to grammars. An error in leaving a portion un- 
committed at the outset, is very frequently irre- 
parable. 

But precision is of vital importance in expressing 
rules. Yet how loosely are these often wrorded ! 
and how entangled with less important matter ; as 
if the author had no clear perceptions, and did not 
know which was of greater consequence, the rule 
or the restriction and explanation ! Hence, some 
teachers compel the pupils to learn both text and 
comment — to swallow the bran with the unbolted 
meal. But the majority of pupils do commit neither ; 
for where the author has had no accurate sight, 
others often have misty views through his cloudy 
medium. And what is dimly perceived here is un- 
dervalued. Even experienced teachers are fre- 
quently so embarrassed by the clumsy, inartistical 
text, that in despair they abandon the book, and de- 
pend upon a few questions, which they have usually 
to answer daily themselves, and to make explana- 
tion, to be re-repeated with endless iteration at 
every lesson, till they feel very much like flogging 
the author, and not the boy. Books are over ex- 
plained, the ignorance or conceit of authors not al- 
lowing them to suppose masters and scholars can 
understand the plainest thing, without it is made 
still plainer. 

Perhaps the text, properly expressed, should oc- 
cupy the upper part of the page, with exceptions 
deemed as indispensable as the rules themselves 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. jQg 

while all notes, remarks, observations, and the like, 
should be placed below a line at the lower part of 
the page. 

A few years ago, some grammars from across the 
water were in use here, which, in a pre-eminent de- 
gree, possessed the essential requisites of a good 
text-book — brevity and precision, and a distinct 
visibility for text and comment. But, under some 
silly pretext or other — perhaps to democratize them 
— they were ruthlessly seized, and so marred by 
mal-arrangement as soon to destroy their integrity ! 
And then, by degrees, the cunning of a dexterous 
legerdemain^substituted in their room new books ! 
It was equal to a dissolving view — one melted so 
insensibly into the other ! The schoolmaster is 
indeed abroad in the land — and so is the book- wiz- 
ard ! He touches a good book, and it becomes — any- 
thing else ! 

If it be asked, what should be committed to mem- 
ory ; or in other words, what should be put into the 
text ? the answer is, whatever is of daily and hourly 
application. Different teachers may differ as to 
w^hat is to be thus used ; but no other answer can be 
given, because the book is a mere tool, and its effi- 
cacy depends upon the workman. The book cannot 
make the teacher. 

Systems of books, from the foundation to the key- 
stone, have been attempted by several, with what 
success the author knows not. In some cases, fail- 
ure may be attributed to uncalled-for changes in 
long established forms and technical words. Per- 
haps the authors intended these small changes should 

6 



no 



CHAPTER III. 



show their originality, or their more extensive read- 
ing. Sometimes it arises from a sickly and slavish 
imitation of German writers — a wish to train the 
American mind like the German mind ! — the one 
sort of mind being of com'se composed of material 
different from the other. Or perhaps the ingenuity 
of the authors intended a snare by the alterations ; 
for if we could once be brought to commit the new 
forms, we should have an almost insuperable aver- 
sion to using others, even if better. But, alas ! what 
is gained in velocity is lost in power ; the immove- 
ability of habit nrrakes us reject what causes the per- 
plexity ; and as long as we can have old forms we 
hate the new. Get us to lay aside our prejudices 
for the old, till you can create them for the new, 
and then we are caught ! But that is a feat beyond 
ordinary legerdemain. 

Vain the hope, however, that any system of books, 
whatever be the real character, should come into 
very general use. Not only do authors love change 
— the people also love it. The extreme and ultra- 
democratical feeling is adverse to the aristocracy of 
one dominant system. It will yield to nothing uni- 
versal, unless a botanical medicine, or an extract of 
sarsaparilla. The cupidity of many will incessantly 
strive to displace popular books ; and any book or 
system of books can for a season be advertised into 
use. 

Beyond all doubt, very important advantages — - 
indeed, some of them incalculable, would arise if one 
single system of text-books could be adopted for the 
schools, in their distinctive character as primary. 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. 



Ill 



academical, and collegiate. Such system might not 
be perfect ; but without inconvenient changes in the 
essence and forms of rules, they would become bet- 
ter and better in time, provided learned persons, 
sacrificing their individual love of gain, and the small 
fame of being known as the author of a change in a 
word or a phrase, would all aid to make that one 
system perfect. But it is a chimera to expect one 
system, unless under the authority of a corporate 
body of colleges and academies ; and rather than 
allow such a body to do good, the spirit of the age 
would crush every college in the land ! It is an 
aristocracy in literature to which it would never 
submit. Give us a thousand gods, but not one ! 

Amidst the countless systems and books, we choose 
as we best can. To-day we get a good article, to- 
morrow a bad one. The meteors and stars of the 
literary firmament bewilder us. True, each partic- 
ular star has its advocates, and bears on its head or 
drags at its tail a long flame of recommendation ! 
But, alas ! who can examine all ? As well go to all 
the streets and alleys and lanes, in search of folk 
cured by all the opposite and conflicting systems of 
quackery and nostrum ! If the cold water process 
boasts its thousands, so does the hot water and steam 
process ! One swears he was cured by a box of 
pills, another by a bottle of liquid ! Hundreds are 
saved by homoeopathy, and hundreds by mesmer- 
ism ! So every system of education, and each par- 
ticular book, is sworn to and paraded as the grand 
desideratum! 

Of recommendations, some are from men good 



112 



CHAPTER III. 



enough as lawyers, physicians, congressmen, and 
divines, or as military and naval officers, but who of 
practical teaching are as ignorant as a lord ! How 
indignant would such frown were we to trench on 
their professions ! Some recommendations are from 
vanity. Small people wish to appear in print — to 
stand for once in capitals ! Not a few recommend, 
to be rid of importunity ! Many sign what others 
have written, just as we put down our names upon 
a paper, pledging ourselves to aid in buying a fresh 
milch cow for some poor fellow, whose former brin- 
dle has recently gone dry ! Pity will move in favor 
of a new book ! We knew a worthy man that pur- 
chased a bottle of a popular carminative, not to save 
his children from summer disease — for though a hus- 
band, he was not a father — but that he might volun- 
tarily furnish the druggist with a recommendation ! 
He had rather be printed, even if destined to be 
wrapped around a bottle, than to remain in inglori- 
ous obscurity ! And that person was a clergyman ! 

Perhaps the best of all recommendations is a book 
without any. Let recommendation be given to 
books that need it. It is the fashion to be recom- 
mended ; but it is nearly the same as a newspaper, 
in which all the advertisements appear in the column 
reversed. Indeed, we have become suspicious of 
all contrivance. We laugh with the contrivers as 
very merry fellows ; and we give them their re- 
ward — not our custom, but our applause. They 
wished to be considered quizzes : we class them ac- 
cordingly. 

For some twenty years past, school-books have 



THE TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS. II3 

been accompanied with questions ; but it does not 
appear that the plan has been productive of any- 
great advantages, even where the questions have 
referred to the subject, and not to the paragraph 
and page. No hesitation, surely, can be felt in pro- 
nouncing many questions, and for many books, a 
nuisance. When answers are furnished, the folly 
is eminently preposterous. Of course, from such 
censure must be excepted all subjects necessarily 
studied by questions, and all books composed in the 
form of dialogues. Questions, too, that become to- 
pics or themes for essays, or discussions, on different 
parts of a subject, are not only excepted, but they 
are praiseworthy. 

But, generally, questions in grammars, histories, 
botanies, rhetorics, philosophies, and the like, are 
evils — and that, even if the questions refer to the 
subject ; for while ingenuity and diligence are, pos- 
sibly, employed to find answers, yet the mind is di- 
verted from studying the subject as a system, — and 
when well understood as a system, any questions 
can be answered. The questions are to spare the 
memory by sharing the labor with the judgment, 
and are part of the perpetually repeated plan to 
shorten roads and smooth roughness. Let the pupil 
master rules and principles ; and let not his mind 
be prevented its proper exercise, by hints furnished 
from the questions. 

Doubtless, many authors print questions contrary 
to their own judgment. Books must appear in the 
fashionable style, even if grotesque ; and the weak- 



114 CHAPTER III. 

ness of parents and indolence of teachers, sometimes 
reject books that seem to be too hard. 

In concluding this subject the author would say, 
that, while certain books, systems, and authors, have 
been in his view, some, on the one hand, worthy all 
praise and thanks, and some, on the other hand, 
.worthy of severe censure ; yet, his present object is 
rather to throw out hints and suggestions, gathering 
in his mind for years past, and which are to be ap- 
propriated or applied where they may be suitable. 
If no works and systems and authors exist, to which 
the objections and censure apply, the animadver- 
sions may be serviceable in deterring ignorance, 
cupidity, and conceit, from making and publishing 
works and systems of the sort condemned. 



CHAPTER IV 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 

The author disavows all intention of teaching 
teachers. Nothing is more abhorrent than an essay 
or book intended as a model of the art of teaching. 
A book, indeed, written by any one long practised 
in any art or profession, may be, in a degree, profit- 
able to the less experienced, provided the author 
have talents or genius adequate to his task ; but if a 
person be himself destitute of the essential qualities 
of a teacher, no book can make him a teacher. If 
the person have the qualities, he has anticipated 
most that others can say. Or such an one has plans 
and systems different, and yet not less valuable than 
others ; perhaps, his are superior to anything which 
may be written and disclosed. He is himself better 
fitted for the work of an author, than the very au- 
thor he miay be reading. 

Men of talents and genius and learning, (and very 
many such are teachers,) are a law to themselves : 
they embody all that can be said. Hence it is dis- 
tasteful to have obtruded the well-meant, but flip- 
pant and conceited smartness of some lectures and 
books, addressed to teachers. Some, self-elected, 
and others legally appointed, have an ex-oflicio style 
in discoursing to *' schoolmasters," as if they were 



21(5 CHAPTER IV. 

actually '* green !" and some talk to them as if the 
masters were slaves and fools ! Perhaps, some such 
feel sore in the palm or somewhere else, and take 
the opportunity of a little brief authority to butt 
their hard heads, in a revengeful spirit. The lamb- 
like patience of many teachers under the " punish- 
ment" — severe as is the infliction — not rarely arises 
from the baneful influence of a system of legislative 
patronage and espionage, adverse to the teacher's 
manly independence. But more of this in another 
place. 

We aim mainly, now, to show the world what 
teachers do. Gentlemen of the profession are often 
pleased and confirmed on discovering that others 
think and practise as themselves. Many intelligent 
and modest men pureue, with some hesitation, right 
methods, who are at once emboldened and strength- 
ened by a similar practice of men rich in experience, 
and whose opinions, therefore, are entitled to some 
respect. It is the arrogant assumption of originality 
that is so offensive to teachers. 

Success in a school depends upon many things, 
some common to all schools, with slight modifica- 
tions, and others special to an individual school. 
The teacher himself may be an old or a young man ; 
his personal appearance prepossessing and dignified, 
or the contrary ; his manners winning or repulsive ; 
his temper equal or variable. Pupils have countless 
varieties, contrasts and oppositions, and in many 
points of view. Parents are various, and different. 
A thousand nameless things affect the character of 
a school. Hence the egregious folly of any one 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. JI7 

book, or treatise, or lecture, that aims at having all 
teachers regulated by one standard or system. In 
teaching it is as true as in medicine : — " The herring 
that cures the Scotchman kills the Frenchman." 

Of things common to schools, with modifications, a 
few may be named. 

1. Classification. — This saves labor, and renders 
it possible to teach all, where otherwise it would be 
impossible rightly to teach any. But beyond con- 
venience, classification is important, since experi- 
ence shows that pupils in classes learn more in quan- 
tity, and better iii quality, than in any other way. 
It is thus in most things. A single coal will die, sep- 
arated from others. Hence one sufficient reason 
for the superiority of public education over private. 
Teachers need not be told the philosophy of this : 
they know, however, that with rare exceptions, boys 
in proper classes will double, often treble the amount 
in quantity and quality beyond the amount in the 
same time of a solitary boy under a private tutor. 
Boys in classes usually do all the solitary boy does, 
and yet attend to many additional exercises, which 
the other wholly omits. Masters themselves, obe- 
dient to the laws of sympathy, will ordinarily teach 
a class often with more spirit and success than a 
class of two. The occasional absence of two or 
three good members of a class, has a visible eflfect 
on the nerves of both pupils and teacher ; and hence, 
a rainy day, in addition to other reasons, is dreaded, 
because of the sad inroad upon the size of the class. 
Baron Steuben carsed hare} enough in drilling a 
whole regiment : it would have at once shut up his 
6* 



21g CHAPTER IV. 

profane mouth, had Congress compelled him, by way 
of chastisement, to drill one man at a time ! He 
would have been too dispirited and melancholy to 
swear. 

Classes may be either too small or too large. 
From six to fifteen will be a just medium, in primary 
schools and academies. In colleges, or schools 
taught by lectures, and where few or no questions 
are asked, it matters not what may be the size of 
classes, provided none are prevented from hearing. 
Hence boys not well drilled before going to college, 
cannot be profited ; the fault, however, not being 
attributable to the college. 

Proper organization of classes is often hindered 
by accidents beyond the control of teachers. Equal- 
ity in age, industry, talents, and the like, may be 
desirable, but it is not possible ; and, therefore, the 
expectation of parents for their children, and pupils 
themselves, of being classed with those in all re- 
spects equals, is unreasonable. Were parents as 
liberal with their money as with their censures often, 
principals of schools would be well enough paid to 
employ more assistant tutors, and then classes could 
be more and better arranged. But, although the 
Israelites made brick and found straw, it does not 
follow that schoolmasters will do the same, till Pha- 
raoh be evoked ab inferis, to compel them. And yet, 
without a separate and distinct teacher for every 
three or four children in a school of fifty, classifica- 
tion cannot comprise equals only ; nor if it could, 
would it be, of consequence, right. 

When unequals are comprised, provided the dis- 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. jjg 

parities be not too great, a laggard is forced by- 
shame and good examples to hasten ; while the one 
in advance fears to be overtaken, and will not relax 
his speed. Without means of comparing rates of 
speed, important mistakes are made. Equals, equally 
moving, may seem to be moving fast, but still more 
slowly than possible ; but a quicker movement must 
be educed by comparison or compelled by contrast. 
In all communities we must act with many ; nor 
are we at liberty, from every inconvenience and 
loss, to act separately. We must pay something 
for the countless advantages of a social compact ; 
and selfishness must be counteracted in schools as in 
active life. Here the strong must be taught to bear, 
in a measure, the burdens of the weak ; and the 
teacher, in the adjustment of classes, may regard 
justice and yet love mercy. If parents insist on very 
special attention, let them pay a very special price, 
or employ a private tutor ; or let principals be ena- 
bled to employ additional assistants. 

It is the custom to tell of the obligations and du- 
ties of teachers : it is pardonable, if teachers say 
something about the duties of parents. We hope, 
therefore, the fable of the lion and the man may be 
recalled to mind, when it is shown, from time to 
time, that the lion, furnished with the brush, will 
paint the man underneath. 

But a source of vexation in classing scholars, is 
in text-books. The sorts on the same subject, used 
by children coming from many different schools and 
districts and parts of the Union, not only are innu- 
merable — the varieties in the sorts are many ; and 



220 CHAPTER IV. 

every sort is deemed by the parents, perhaps, the 
best ! Hie labor est ! nune usus viribus / A class, 
hov^^ever, is at length formed ; and the text-book, 
partly by vote, partly by coaxing, and partly by 
force, is selected. The master proceeds to assign 
the lesson ; he names the page ; the books are shuf- 
fled and tm'ned — happy omen ! — eagerness in the 
manner, good natm-e in the eyes ! The passage is 
named — and then come cries from several of the 
class : *' Sir ! that is not in my book !" " Sir ! it is 
different here !" Upon this, the master, so suddenly 
checked under full sail, asks : " Have you not got 

?" — (we have a great mind to fill the blank.) 

** Yes, sir !" " Let me see the edition !" *' Aye ! it 
is, indeed, the book ; but the editions are, severally, 
six months later !" Of course, (hovi^ can ordinary 
flesh and blood refrain ?) the master, in bitter indig- 
nation, delivers an extemporaneous lecture on book- 
sellers, book-makers, and book-agents ; hauls in his 
flowing sheet, and rows laboriously against an ad- 
verse tide, as best he can. 

Why should not a man of medium understanding, 
review and re-write his book till it is as perfect as a 
text-book need be, and then, when published, let it 
alone ? The changes made in every edition, show 
plainly enough that the first was done in a hurry ; 
that the writer feared some more active gentleman 
would forestall the market. Some authors are but 
raw hands at the business, and they expect to im- 
prove as they go ; yet some such, although they 
have had practice sufficient, are not yet perfect. 

An imperfect text-book, (materially imperfect, or 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 



121 



one which the author deems such,) should never be 
adopted in a school ; and when a new edition differs 
very materially from the former, it would be a 
proper corrective of the evil, and an effectual one, 
too, if that work was at once dropped. Let authors 
of school-books be taught the '' seven years' rule," 
and then we should, at long intervals, now and then, 
have a good book, instead of seven bad editions of 
the same work in as many years. Teachers are a 
mighty body, if united ; and some persons, wise in 
their own conceit, if the masters would take the 
pains, might be taught salutary lessons. They could 
be smart for once ! 

The practice, in some schools of much and de- 
served celebrity, is worthy all imitation, where 
practicable. Sets of classes move, at a signal, into 
separate apartments, where tutors are in attendance 
to hear the several recitations ; and then, in due 
season, at another signal, these sets are succeeded 
by other sets, and take their places in the common 
study-room. In the common study-room, the prin- 
cipal, or some suitable assistant, presides — superin- 
tending the studies, keeping order, aiding in diffi- 
culties, correcting faults, marking delinquents, and 
the like. The intervals between the sets of classes, 
should not usually exceed forty-five minutes, nor be 
less than thirty ; and, in this way, in a school of me- 
dium size, with three or four teachers, from thirty- 
five to fifty recitations may be heard daily, and 
heard in the best possible manner. 

This arrangement is not always possible ; but 



J 22 CHAPTER IV. 

where many branches are studied at once, it cannot, 
with advantage, be dispensed with. Where but one 
or two things are studied all the time, as was for- 
merly the mode, or where different branches are 
appropriated to different days, as is practised by 
some, a single room is sufficient ; and a less number 
of classes requires a less number of teachers. With- 
out entering into tha discussion here, as to the com- 
parative advantages of a concentrated and a mixed 
system of studies, the author inclines to the latter, pro- 
vided studies are not too numerous. Such schools re- 
quire, however, several teachers, and, of consequence, 
as many recitation-rooms as there are teachers. 

2. Lessons should be perfectly got. This rule 
must be inexorably enforced. The success of a 
school turns at last upon this point. Whatever excel- 
lencies, beside, belong to the school, this is its life: 
if this languish, everything else will decay with it. 
No apologies must be admitted for the constant, 
or even frequent violations of this rule. Care 
must, indeed, be taken that pupils have neither 
more nor less than they can fairly manage ; but that 
quantum ascertained, it must be imperatively and 
perseveringly required. Great difficulty is here ; 
and all a teacher's sagacity and wisdom and expe- 
rience are called forth to apportion tasks justly ; 
but sooner or later, ruin or prosperity hangs on the 
management. Elegance of building, beauty of scen- 
ery, good intentions, learning, ability in teachers, 
and many other things, may retard ruin ; but, if 
pupils are not forced to master such lessons as they 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. J 23 

can master, the ruin will come at last. We must 
approximate perfection here ; and the nearer that 
approximation, the fairer the prospect, other things 
being equal, of a long enduring school. 

It is spoken more in sorrow than in anger ; but 
the enforcing of this prime essential is often — yes, 
alas ! very often — rendered impossible by the weak- 
ness of too indulgent parents. Such send to a good 
school, in the vain hope, that in some indefinable 
way, the name, the reputation, and other pleasant 
things of the school, will do the boy good ! But 
the only rule that can do him good, they wish not 
enforced ! And when he becomes soured and rebel- 
lious, under the faithful enforcement, his complaints 
will be heard ! All punishment, whether of rebuke, 
or confinement, or chastisement with the rod, will 
be deemed anti-republican, kingly, despotic ! In 
vain, all expectation of a good school, if in any com- 
munity the majority of parents are indulgent, or 
themselves undisciplined ; for the teacher must 
either, at last, yield to the fierce storm, if he be 
faithful, or he must relax his rigor ; and then ruin 
comes in another shape. Doubtless, many schools 
owe their failure to the teacher, but not a few to 
the parents. Where parents duly sustain the teacher 
in his rigorous exaction of possible tasks, there the 
children grow in obedience, in manliness, in strength 
of character, in knowledge — in everything " lovely 
and of good report ;" and there is a good school. 

Some parents wish tasks assigned for studying in 
the evenings at home ; others wish all studying to 
be confined to the school-room ; but variety here is 



124 CHAPTER IV. 

unavoidable. Enough, if all the pupils have tasks 
suitable in difficulty, and sufficiently numerous, and 
that all these tasks are required to be fairly per- 
formed : where or w^hen learned is of small impor- 
tance. Parents think they have a criterion of a boy's 
progress and improvement in the fact of his seeming 
to be busy w^ith his lessons at home, or the contrary ; 
but often this home-diligence is occasioned by indo- 
lence in the school-room ; and not rarely, it is a de- 
ception to prevent parental suspicion, or to lull it 
when awaked. Nothing but examinations on the 
part of the parent, and frequent interviews with the 
teacher, and occasional visits to the school-room, and a 
constant attendance at periodical public examinations, 
can enable the parent to form a correct judgment. 

As a general rule, a full half of the time in school 
should be spent by each pupil in actual recitations. 
The tasks can usually be learned in the other half, 
with one or at most two hours home- studying, 
or if at a boarding-school, extra studying. Seven 
hours, or, at the very utmost, (and rarely that,) 
eight hours per diem is sufficient time spent by 
children in studies and recitations. The rest should 
be devoted to playing, or to recreation, which, 
sometimes, may be of a literary or philosophic char- 
acter. But good, honest, wholesome sports are vi- 
tally essential to children. Young men or women, 
by proper system, may do more than children ; but 
such, if studious, must beware of exceeding eight 
hours in their laborious studies. 

3. Discipline is used now in the sense of govern- 
ment, and riot instruction ; and, with few exceptions. 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. J 25 

all educators profess to believe that governmental 
discipline is essential to the well-being of a school. 
The no-government folk may be left to time — a 
tardy, but sure and severe corrector of folly. And 
yet, while many parents admit that discipline, cor- 
rective, coercive, and even punitive, must, at times, 
be applied to children — still only to children in the 
abstract, while children specially and particularly are 
always excepted ! — or that, if necessary, it is for 
their neighbors' juveniles only — their own will give 
no trouble ! Experience, however, shows invaria- 
bly, that in large promiscuous schools the exceptions 
are a very small minority ; and that this minority, 
for the most part, would become idle, impertinent, 
and often openly rebellious, if they were only per- 
suaded that punitive and coercive discipline ought 
not and would not be employed in their case. 

With the best children, noble motives occasion- 
ally lose their power. If allowed, then, to be neg- 
ligent, they will, in time, despise the master : the 
fear of the rod must be before their eyes. Fre- 
quently, to every person's surprise, a boy, long re- 
markably good, and a favorite, suddenly stands forth 
in defiance of authority ! Some order, contrary to 
his liking, had been given — some distasteful task en- 
joined — and, in a moment, he rebelled ! A teacher, 
in such circumstances, has but two alternatives — to 
compel obedience, or resign his office. He may, 
indeed, expel the boy ; but that is a cowardly and 
injurious expedient, and often organizes against the 
school an opposition, determined and successful. 
If, indeed, parents, rather than allow a favorite boy 



126 CHAPTER IV. 

to be properly compelled to his duty, withdraw him 
from school, because of a threatened chastisement, 
or because of its necessary infliction, that is an evil 
unavoidable ; but the consequences belong to those 
misjudging parents. 

. Often we read, in school advertisements, that the 
government is strictly par ejital ; sometimes, moral 
and parental. But what is parental government ? 
Such government is good or bad, according to the 
intelligence, religion, and fii'mness of parents. Some- 
times it is coercive ; sometimes, not. In some fam- 
ilies, from special causes, little beyond persuasives 
is necessary ; or, if coercion be occasionally called 
for, the lightest pull of the reins serves : so tender 
(to keep up the metaphor) are some children, that 
the least check restrains — the slightest spur incites. 
If domestic discipline eschew all coercion and puni- 
tion, when children are rebellious and wilful, that 
parental government will not do for schools ; at 
least, not for all schools. It may, for a while, suc- 
ceed in schools so fortunate as to be wholly com- 
posed of the very best children, from the very best 
families ; but such schools are liable to sudden re- 
bellions, from the implied absence of corrective and 
punitive discipline, while human hearts are naturally 
evil and treacherous. 

Perhaps the phrases, " parental government," 
*' moral and parental," and similar ones, in adver- 
tisements, are frequently mere words of course, with 
any or no meaning ; but, sometimes, such phrases 
are indicative in their character : the teacher in- 
tending to proclaim that corporal chastisement will, 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 



127 



in no case, be employed as a means of discipline. 
In that case, it is more definite to say at once, '' cor- 
poral chastisement " is not used. It is hardly fair 
to appropriate the word " parental ;" because teach- 
ers who occasionally appeal to the rod, consider 
themseh^es as exercising a judicious and parental 
government. Possibly, fear may induce a mild and 
ambiguous term, lest certain schools might be wholly 
composed of good-hearted youngsters, who have 
made up their minds not to be whipped — a commu- 
nity no teacher in his senses would, of choice, pre- 
fer ; or, possibly, certain schools design to adminis- 
ter " a parental government " both ways, to suit the 
parents of opposite opinions. The policy may, per- 
haps, be defended ; yet honesty is here also the best 
policy. 

The rod, in most mixed schools, must be a final 
and possible resort. Its actual use, with judicious 
masters, is always a tardy necessity. It should be 
employed solemnly and, for most cases, separate 
from beholders. Let the rod not be employed for 
small mistakes and offences, nor for mere heedless- 
ness ; and never for deficiencies, where reasonable 
industry has existed. For these, and innumerable 
faults, other modes of discipline are commonly suf- 
ficient. But let the rod be confined to the greater 
and graver oflfences ; to deliberate or often repeated 
offences, after suitable admonitions and warnings ; 
to all fixed and sullen obstinacy ; to a vicious and 
rebellious spirit ; to all cases where mild discipline 
would beget additional indolence and insolence. 

Many shuffle off responsibility, and rid themselves 



128 CHAPTER IV. 

of a disagreeable duty, by saying, '' Bad boys should 
be expelled !" That may be, however, at a teach- 
er's peril ! There is One who may, hereafter, re- 
quire the bad boy's soul at the master's hands ! 
Society, even, may have questions to ask of that 
teacher, which may not so easily be answered, if 
the expelled becomes a nuisance and a pest ! 

Said a father once to the author, who expressed 
an intention of dismissing his son : " Have you whip- 
ped him, sir ?" To this was the reply : " No ; I am 
opposed to corporal chastisement in schools." " What, 
sir !" exclaimed the father, " do you mean to expel 
my son, injure his character, injure his family, when 
a good whipping would make him behave himself! 
I entreat you, sir, whip him." The boy was prop- 
erly chastised, though in violence to our own feel- 
ings ; and he reformed in a moment, remaining a 
comparatively good boy, till the school itself was, in 
a year or two afterwards, discontinued. 

Some tell us they have conducted schools with- 
out chastising in any instance : so have we, and 
many other rod-believing masters ; but we say, 
schools cannot always be thus conducted. Time 
was when our uniform response, to parents who 
urged us to chastise bad boys, was : '' We will not 
be whipping-post for the neighborhood ; do your 
own whipping." Our experience has been of both 
methods, and the resident conviction now is, that 
the occasional use of the rod, in some schools, is in- 
dispensable ; and its use in all should be deemed 
possible. A slumbering power feared, prevents its 
ever waking ! 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 129 

And this occasional use of the birch is parental. 
The teacher, like a parent, must be careful not '' to 
provoke sons to wrath ;" yet his " soul must not 
spare for the crying." He may withhold correction 
and hate the children. Pupils under a judicious, 
although rigorous system, love the master, and can 
be moved by a sense of honor and proper emula- 
tion. But all rewards, and praise and blame — all 
confinement, and extra tasks — all reports of bad be- 
haviour to parents — all appeals to honor and con- 
science — all these, and the many ever-varied expe- 
dients of anxious teachers, sometimes fail ; and then 
the " voice of the rod" must be heard. He who, 
then, from mistake or indifference, will not allow 
that voice to speak, is instrumental in forming a 
demagogue — a liar — a thief — a murderer ! Inquiry 
would show that many of the atrocious crimes of 
men, are measurably owing to some radical defect 
in the early education at home and at school — to 
a want of wholesome rigor. 

Generally, the rod must be used with young 
children in school : we are to correct while " there 
is hope ;" for if there is no hope of doing good, cor- 
poral chastisement may harden. There is, as for 
all other things, a time for the rod. And yet cases 
exist when a flagellation of pretty large boys, has 
acted " as a charm." In the instance named, the 
boy was over sixteen years of age. In another 
case, a large boy was a notorious truant, a liar, and 
a species of forger : with a sincere reluctance and 
a hopeless feeling, this lad, at the express and earnest 
request of the parent, was chastised ; and his exter- 



130 CHAPTER IV. 

nal reformation was instant and complete ! Indeed, 
as to his own government, the author has often 
erred from a deep-rooted aversion to the use of the 
rod ; and his birchings have been few and far be- 
tween. The boys, doubtless, did not, at the time, 
consider these " angel visits ;" and yet more good 
may have been done, than if their eyes had been 
blessed with such sights. His present opinions 
shall be yielded to argument supported by facts ; 
but to the humdrum of lecturing superintendents, 
paid for pelting frogs — never ! 

In regard to girls, the rod should be used only 
with very little ones — and that, always by a 
woman. None but a woman should, if possible, 
ever teach little girls. Many young girls advanc- 
ing towards womanhood, do indeed behave in school 
in a manner worthy severe chastisement ; but the 
twig has become now inclined, and too rigid and 
inflexible a branch for the warping into a right 
direction, by any school discipline. The tree 
must bear its fruit now. The coming age must 
eat it ! 

Such an avowal will render indignant young 
gentlemen in the sparking age and perhaps old 
bachelors, that cultivate hair on the upper lip and 
wear wigs, strutting a brief noontide in the sunshine 
of a lady's countenance. Looks, however savage, 
do not kill everybody. Truth is more formidable 
and awe-inspiring than angry words and scornful 
faces. Teachers see young ladies in a light different 
from that in which they are often viewed by men 
of gallantry. The " angel" of a ball-room or a fash- 



ARRANGING AND M.INAGING THE MATERIAL. 13| 

ionable party, changes wonderfully in the school- 
room. Would a man not mistake in his choice of a 
life's companion ? — let him consult her teacher, and 
not her dress-maker or dancing-master. A young 
lady that passes with honor and reputation through 
the fiery ordeal of the school — a furnace that melts 
away dross and tin from the pure gold — will always 
make a wife worth the winning. The fop cannot 
have her ; she is not for his asking. She reads him 
at a glance, from his title-page, done in curled hair, 
to the finis of his gilded volume, bound in French 
calf-skin ! A woman deserves a man. 

4. We prefer an admixture of various and oppo- 
site studies. Studies may be ranked in two grand 
classes. The most important class is mainly dis- 
ciplinary ; although they, of necessity, have second- 
ary uses, extremely valuable. The other class is 
mainly important for knowledge ; but yet, they may 
be so used as to become instrumental in strengthen- 
ing the mind. 

Of the first-named kind are, the dead or ancient 
languages, the exact sciences, logic, and all kinds of 
philosophy properly so called. Of the second kind 
are, geography, history, chemistry, botany, reading, 
spelling, and many more. 

These two classes of studies may mutually par- 
take in some degree each other's character ; yet 
ground exists for the distinction just made. If our 
views of education are correct, our school-books 
and studies will appertain rather to the disciplinary : 
if we aim to make the student's mind a mere store- 
house, we shall select from the other kind ; or if 



132 CHAPTER IV. 

the first be used, it will be simply for show, and, 
therefore, superficially. 

But, whatever our views, we must not expect 
others immediately to adopt them. A very great 
number of parents prefer the easier, the undisciplin- 
ary studies; for, acquainted only with these them- 
selves, they cannot appreciate the severe. The 
stream cannot be higher than the fountain. In- 
stances of great success in every walk of life are 
found, where men with small education, and small 
talents, move ; and instances of important failure, 
where educated men, and men of talents, have tried. 
Nay, very ignorant persons, unable to read, to 
spell, to write their own native tongue, may be 
seen everywhere in prosperity, in riches, in great 
wealth. How then shall the majority of parents 
know the advanta^^es and the uses of severe and 
laborious, and apparently expensive discipline ? The 
majority, the great majority, in most places, prefer 
books and studies easy, common, cheap ; or if 
higher studies are sought, it is on the principle of 
the sheep in the Vicar's family picture — as much or 
as many as can be put in for nothing ! 

No small number, however, of parents who are 
fully aware of the vital importance of thorough ed- 
ucation, may everywhere be found ; and yet, from 
want of time, or pecuniary ability, or some other 
good reason, these forego the advantages of that 
education, and, of necessity, restrict themselves to a 
partial training of their children. For many rea- 
sons, not necessary to state, pupils designed to be 
most thoroughly disciplined in severe studies, should 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. igg 

be exercised in the lighter branches. Hence, schools 
generally must have an admixture of studies. This 
may agree with a teacher's views, but it would exist 
contrary to his views. The time is past w^hen 
schools were wholly classical, or mathematical ; al- 
though schools are often attempted that are com- 
mercial, or elocutional, or for mere penmanship. It 
is lawful to be taught by an enemy ; and, as systems 
of partialism, or of quacker}^ have incidentally re- 
formed many abuses, and corrected many errors in 
medicine, so the well-founded objections to an edu, 
cation too exclusively Latin, or mathematical, al- 
though violently, and in many cases maliciously 
urged, have, beyond doubt, rectified mistakes in for- 
mer systems. A storm is useful no less in the liter- 
ary and moral world, than the natural, and when 
past, leaves truth and nature more verdant, and fra- 
grant, and glorious than before. 

In the apportionment of studies this will not be 
found destitute of many advantages : — let each pu- 
pil have from tw^o to four disciplinary studies, and 
from four to six of the easier and lighter sort, accord- 
ing to circumstances. And this applies to students, 
whether they are to be educated or crammed. In 
the first case, and w^here languages are to be used 
as the instruments of the drill, let the pupil have 
Latin or Greek, or both languages, every day — the 
lessons here being the longest and most frequently 
occurring 5 and, in addition, let him have a suitable 
number of recitations in reading, spelling, geogra- 
phy, or in botany, chemistry, book-keeping, and the 
like. Or he may have a lesson in languages, while 
7 



234 CHAPTER IV. 

his other severe studies may be algebra, geometry, 
logic. Or he may have Latin and Greek on alter- 
nate days, and so also certain mathematical or phi- 
losophical studies ; all being compounded and varied 
according to his age, capacity, and progress. It 
languages are not to be the instrument, then parts 
of the mathematics, mechanics, logic, or mental 
philosophy may be made the prominent studies, the 
secondary being as has been just stated. 

When, for special reasons, no severe studies are 
allowed, then must the inferior studies be taught as 
rigorously as possible, that the mind may be a little 
aided, in spite of ignorance or prejudice. Some- 
times it is long before parents find out the good " mis- 
chief" the teacher is guilty of; and then they are 
usuallj' well enough pleased to permit the evil to be 
continued. This is often the case in arithmetic ; 
when, to the surprise and gratification of the parent, 
it is discovered that the boy, although despising rules, 
can solve analytically, and from the merits of the 
question. 

When it is designed that boys shall have a com- 
plete classical education, or a thorough mathematical 
and scientific training, the study of history and 
similar matters is, if not an absolute waste of time, 
nothing beyond a mere recreation. What well-dis- 
ciplined mind needs one to teach it history, botany, 
political economy, mineralogy, and a host of *' knowl- 
edges?" Any man of ordinary capacity, and of 
ordinary diligence, can master all these at home ; he 
need not go to school, save for such as are illus- 
trated by experiments. But such will be considered 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 235 

sti^dies, and so studies let them be. The force of a 
popular vote is almost omnipotent. Among the 
Athenians the popular vote constituted common cit- 
izens, w^ho had never served a campaign, generals. 
A philosopher, struck with the potency of the Jiaty 
advised them to vote " asses to be horses !" Yet if 
the above-named are studies, let them be used as 
studies, and not as reading books. 

Is history, for example, to be used as a discipline 
as well as a recreation? Then let the daily lesson 
be committed to memory. A less perfect memo- 
rizing is, perhaps, admissible here than in learning 
the rules of a grammar, the text of a proposition, or 
the principles of science ; and yet, if less perfection 
be tolerated, latitude becomes wider — the inch, the 
ell — till there happens an entire departure from the 
starting-point. 

To all who value a capacious and retentive mem- 
ory, this mode of studying history must recommend 
itself, especially as the memory is thus stored with 
what is so very valuable. And if history be not 
perfectly remembered, what, pray, is its great use? 
If a busy idleness is anywhere, it is in reading his- 
tory in schools and giving the sense ! 

Tell us not, this cultivates the memory at the ex- 
pense of the judgment. Does any one dare afhrm 
that the slovenly reading of history at school, culti- 
vates the judgment? Does a perfect remembrance 
of the whole lesson impair the judgment, or prevent 
its exercise ? If it does, then the teacher does not 
understand his profession ; for why a most rigorous 
and searching examination, and cross-examination, 



13G 



CHAPTER IV. 



into all the facts, and all the philosophy, and all the 
inferences, and uses, both with the printed questions 
and others not printed, is not possible and ought not 
to be instituted, at every recitation, after the mem- 
ory has done its part, who can say ? 

In an easy matter like history, the boy doubtless 
believes, while for the first time reading what is 
novel and interesting, that he will not forget it, — 
he wishes not to forget it ; but in a few days, nay, 
a few hours after this, he remembers the promi- 
nent facts possibly, and the outlines — all else is for- 
gotten. If he is allowed to recite what he can 
thus remember, or simply to pick out answers to 
printed questions, the whole, in a few weeks, be- 
comes a jumble and a jargon in his mind. Beside, 
the boy must be kept busy with something. If not 
fully occupied, he becomes mischievous ; in which 
he indeed is to blame for a bad disposition, but the 
false system for its cultivation, or at least its non- 
resistance. Easy studies, or rather no studies, open 
the work-shop for the great enemy ; and elementary 
schools do, in this way, often unintentionally, become 
schools of vice. There is a closer connection be- 
tween severe studies and virtue than superficial 
thinkers suppose. 

As to the rules of grammar, the texts of geome- 
try, the leading principles of any art or science — all 
things of daily and hourly application — these should 
be memorized beyond the possibility of forgetful- 
ness ; and this cannot be done unless the very 
words are themselves accurately learned. Indo- 
lence and self-sufliciency on the part of most pupils 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 



137 



will usually over-match the perseverance of the 
master on this point. If, however, the mind is to be 
properly disciplined, its perverseness subdued, its 
impatience curbed — if a thousand nameless advanta- 
ges are to be secured, and a thousand evils pre- 
vented — the master must be, here, inexorable. He 
must have the rule, the whole rule, and nothing but 
the rule — nothing more, nothing less, nothing substi- 
tuted, nothing varied. 

A very serious difficulty arises here from the un- 
philosophic verbiage of many authors in expressing 
their rules — especially the parenthetical and explana- 
tory authors. A man's heart relents at compelling a 
boy to get by heart stuff, mere stuff! the vox prceterea 
nihil. He begins in his softened state, by allowing 
the boy to hunt the grain of wheal in the bushel of 
chaff ; for which indulgence he is rewarded the next 
recitation by having the chaff puffed into his face ! 
While disturbed, he angrily proceeds to winnow out 
the grain for the pupil, and not without a bitter phi- 
lippic at book-makers and book-venders. Finally, 
he abandons the class to its fate. Hence the half- 
learning of the day. 

To forget a rule, or not know where to find it 
when required, is to enter a labyrinth and leave the 
thread at the door- way. Neither rule nor thread 
guides, unless carried with us. A subject fairly 
mastered by incessant application of rule, stands no 
longer in need of rule. Few masters of any art or 
science recur to rules; knowinor the whole and all 
the parts, the labyrinth being not only explored, but 



138 



CHAPTER IV. 



mapped and lighted, masters become guides them- 
selves to others. 

Boys have no right to start with a secret persuasion 
that law and rule and principle are not well founded. 
Nor would they ever dream of demanding reasons 
before they can understand reasons, if the profound 
ignorance and empty conceit of plagiarizing writers 
did not invite and tempt them. The philosophy of 
rule is a study for men. It cannot be understood in 
the earlier periods of an education ; but if we be- 
gin modestly with lifting the small calf over the 
fence, we shall, in due season, end with flinging over 
a cow or a bull, or even a brace of oxen, yoke and 
all! 

In arithmetic, the general principles only should 
be memorized, including the customary tables of 
weights, measures, and the like. It is an error to 
commit rules for the special application of the gen- 
eral principles, such as the single rule of three, tare 
and trett, barter, fellowship. If these are deemed 
important, they are easily enough studied by exam- 
ples, whether* as induction, or as inference. Discus- 
sion, however, of this subject is here unnecessary ; 
others have settled the matter ; and the author only 
says what is here written to show that his opinion 
coincides with that of Colburn, and similar masters 
of the subject. Few persons, after leaving school, 
make much use of ordinary arithmetics. Most mat- 
ters, in a promiscuous business, are treated and 
solved according to the merits ; while brokers, com- 
mission merchants, bankers, wholesale merchants, 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. jgg 

carpenters, masons, painters, all have special rules 
for the speedy calculations required ; and which, if 
the clerk or apprentice have been properly disci- 
plined in school, and have become master of fig- 
ures, he can learn easily in a few weeks, and apply 
as well as his employer. What discipline or great 
exercise of mind can be, other than in the analytical 
mode of studying arithmetic, or of treating a question 
according to its merits, is hard to conceive. A bright 
boy may " cipher clean through " a dozen arith- 
metics, and even "the rule of promiscuous questions,*' 
and yet be less prepared for a retail store, or lumber 
yard, than an equally bright chap who has mastered 
Colburn's First Lessons, and the first part of his Se- 
quel, in which pencil and chalk aid his memory. 
The latter will have a habit of mind different from 
the former. The difference will be analogous to 
playing music on a hand organ, or on a violin ; or 
to taking a portrait by the apparatus of a daguerreo- 
typist, and an artist's pencil and palette. The au- 
thor was once present when a lady went into some 
kind of fit — perhaps hysterical. It was in the woods 
where physicians there were none. He thought he 
would look up some '* rule " in Nicholson's Cyclo- 
pedia, and accordingly he turned to a leading arti- 
cle, at which was a reference to another, and here 
again to a third, till nature becoming tired of the de- 
lay, the patient got well of herself. And so a cus- 
tomer, if not benevolent, might go off before a 
rule could be found, by which to work out his ac- 
count. 
The countless imitators of Colburn, who, perhaps 



140 



CHAPTER IV. 



introduced into this country the method of Pesta- 
lozzi, prove the superiority of the method. How 
the system, hov;ever, escaped being nationahzed» 
as too Itahan for republicans and Protestants, is a 
wonder ! It is quite as dangerous as Itahan music 
to our patriotism and virtue ! If some patriot could, 
indeed, abolish pounds, shillings and pence, and let 
us have the genuine North American improvement 
of dollars and cents, in all arithmetics, both old and 
new-fashioned, he would deserve a statue. How 
this badge of continental servitude has remained, 
with a people so sensitive to the mere semblance of 
foreign domination, is really curious ! 

5. Nothing is more important than review'ng 
studies. But here many difficulties oppose, and 
some obstacles almost insurmountable are in the 
way. For instance, the parents and pupils are anx- 
ious to go forward, and, therefore, impatient of de- 
lay ; thinking that where much ground is passed 
over, there the progress is great. Hence frequent 
murmurings and direct requests that children shall 
be put forward — not kept back; that they are not 
to attend school but a limited time ; that schooling 
is very dear, and it is wished to have as much as 
possible ; and sundry similar remarks and mes- 
sages, till teachers often give loose reins, and allow 
the untamed and fretful to run as they please. 

But, again, reviewing is always more or less te- 
dious ; the interest of a study being measurably 
diminished, sometimes lost, with its novelty. Where 
neither pupil nor parent makes objections, to review 
fairly is a hard task, or rather, an irksome task ; 



ARRANGING AXD MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 241 

and nothing but a well-disciplined mind, and a mind 
fired with the love of learning, can voluntarily sub- 
mit to the drudo^erv. A teacher must manas^e well, 
who insures a thorough review, and yet keeps up 
the alacrity of the class. And without thorough 
reviewing, going over old lessons is worse than 
idleness — it renders mistakes incorrigible. It gives 
a fresh lesson in error. It stamps, like a branding- 
iron, absurdity and falsehood. More care is neces- 
sary, in reviewing, to have all exactly right, than to 
learn the original lesson. Without this, better by 
far never to review at all. 

The author lays no claim to originality in naming 
any methods of his own ; and, therefore, without 
insisting, he merely names the following as a good 
method of reviewing : — the daily review of the for- 
mer lesson. At least this is an excellent method in 
some studies — languages, for instance, geometry, his- 
tory, grammar, geography. The new lesson may 
claim the first portion of time at the recitation, the 
former lesson the remaining time. To this add a 
monthly review, and then the final review, previous 
to the examinations. But ever let there be con- 
nected with the final review, an advance into new 
fields, or new portions of old fields. This keeps the 
mind fresh and active ; for if it falls into the listless- 
ness incident to an unmitigated reviewing, it ig 
worse prepared, usually, for the examination, than if 
it had not reviewed. This is one fruitful source of 
disappointment at examinations : the mind is re- 
laxed and dulled by injudicious reviewing, and it 



142 



CHAPTER IV. 



cannot and will not be aroused and brightened in a 
moment. 

It may not be concealed that examination has some- 
times its trickery. A not infrequent trick is where a 
boy advances about a third part or a half of the 
term, and is ever after kept reviewing and re-re- 
viewing a mere minimum^ till he has it, not by mem- 
ory, but by rote ; and then failure is scarcely possi- 
ble, unless unexpected questions are asked, or the 
boy falls asleep. The boy might have done reason- 
ably well, and yet been prepared on a maximum 
quantity ; and the maximum in both quantity and 
quality should be regarded in the estimation of ex- 
aminers. That union is best secured by daily re- 
view of the preceding lesson, followed by the occa- 
sional and the final reviews. A boy is thus always 
ready for examination. 

Some ask whether public examinations are advan- 
tageous to the school or to the pupil ? Others have 
abandoned them, and others (perhaps many others) 
adhere to them pro forma. As often conducted, ex- 
aminations are no fair test of a boy's progress or 
his master's competency. It is a false barometer of 
the literary atmosphere. Indeed, examinations not 
rarely are a detriment both to a good teacher and a 
good scholar ; nay, they injure even a bad scholar. 
For an injudiciously conducted examination makes 
superior things inferior to worse ; it discourages 
diligent and successful scholars by preventing the 
proper exhibition of their attainments, and em- 
boldens the other sort in idleness and impudence, 
by allowing the display of one single attainment, 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. J 43 

whilst there was a shameful deficiency in a dozen 
things that should have been well known. A good 
school can be less hurt by no examination, than by 
one badly contrived or badly conducted. A studied 
injustice to a boy is base ! To plan that an idle and 
disobedient boy shall be applauded with the best, is 
both a meanness and a folly ; it begets contempt in 
both the good and the bad ; it ruins, and deservedly, 
the character of a school. But this injustice and 
this partiality are very often wholly accidental. 
Not infrequently the whole evil is owing to injudi- 
cious or mistaken examiners. A teacher, however, 
must insist on reviews, whether he have pubUc exam- 
inations or not. To teach with an eye to an examina- 
tion only, is not always honesty and is often punished 
by a complete failure. 

Diligent and careful teaching daily, with daily 
reviews, and then the occasional and final reviews, 
will keep a school always ready for partial or gene- 
ral examinations ; and nothing else will. All special 
and extraordinarv drillins: for an examination is 
wholly improper, and almost invariably useless. A 
boy cannot be driven, as a stage-horse, at a small 
trot for nine-tenths of the way, and a hard gallop the 
other tenth. The boy will break down or rebel. 
He must keep an easy, steady, and slightly accele- 
rated pace the w^hole way ; or, if we may be allowed 
such a comparison, he must keep on ever, like a dog 
on a churn-wheel, till the term is completed. Tasks 
not well got at first, and fixed by daily review, are 
never got ! — no, never ! Vain to try the forcing 
system, a few weeks before examination ; there is 



^AA CHAPTER IV. 

nothins: to be forced. The cistern has no water in 
it — the forcing-pump cannot raise what is not there ■ 

Teachers are, very often, not in the least to blame 
for a boy's daily deficiency. For, generally, the 
pupil will not make up his deficiency, unless he be 
kept in after regular school-hours, and forced ; but 
not one teacher in a thousand is able, if he were 
willing, to remain one or two hours beyond the stip- 
ulated six or seven. His health or life would be 
the forfeit ; because, in any school of ordinary size, 
some scholars are always deficient. Not a day 
passes, where tasks are not to be made up after 
school. But a parent has not the shadow of a right 
to expect the extra time thus to be devoted to his 
child, unless he pay an extra price — that is, in an 
ordinary day-school. A teacher may, therefore, 
even if able, properly enough be unwilling to remain 
every day an hour or more beyond the agreement. 

Those day-schools, however, which, from any ar- 
rangement arising from higher price, or more schol- 
ars, or any other cause, are able to employ assistants 
who aid in keeping in, and thus compelling delin.- 
quents to duty, are, other matters equal, the best. 

6. As to examinations, this is the postulate : — r 
Every scholar examined must have full opportunity 
to show all that has been studied in a given period. 
Has the scholar properly learned nine things, and 
neglected one ? Let him show the nine, but be 
justly exhibited deficient on the one. Has he learned 
but one, and neglected nine ? Let him, while ex- 
posed for the gross deficiency, still show the one. 
If absent by any connivance of friends, still let his 



ARllANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 



145 



real standing be made known to any or all whose 
duty and right it is to know. 

For the fulfihiient of the condition indispensable 
to a good and fair examination, two things must be 
found : — Ample Time, and a Competent Examiner. 

Where examination is understood as a mere form, 
and no inferences, adverse or favorable, are drawn 
from the form, it matters not how little time is al- 
low^ed : the less, commonly, the better. One hour 
may do as well as one day. The excitement of the 
thing is all that is sought ; and it answers as a safety- 
valve, if it plays vigorously an hour at the last. 
But, if a true examination be designed, one that shall 
test the progress and excellency of pupils, much 
time must be taken. Hurry and impatience are 
absolutely fatal to the vitality of examination. If 
worth doing at all, this is a matter that must be well 
done; and it cannot be well done in a short time. 
Hence, if ample time be not devoted, let no exami- 
nation take place. 

The time can only be approximated in a general 
rule. It must evidently vary with countless cir- 
cumstances ; but, as a rule, not less than one entire 
hour should be deemed adequate to the wants of a 
class of ten pupils. On some subjects, that sized 
class would require two hours. Schools, if honestly 
examined, will, according to their size and studies, 
require from three to twelve days for the work. 

Many persons, of remarkable perspicacity, profess 
to judge a boy, or a class, from a sentence ! or even 
word ! They are satisfied with one question, and its 
answer ! And these short-metre gentlemen, who 



146 



CHAPTER IV. 



infer the building from a brick, after stepping, with 
much self-complacence, into an examination, and 
taking a very keen peep, step out again, and make 
a report, harmful or helpful, as they have conjec- 
tured or guessed wrong or right ! — a report, how- 
ever, essentially false, whether it accidentally injure 
or aid. To do justice, men must hear the whole 
truth ; and that cannot be heard in less than the 
whole time. And if the whole be not heard, a false 
witnessinsT is borne a^^ainst the nei^i^hbor's school, 
and the neighbors' children. 

In going over the whole subject, at an examina- 
tion, every member of a class should be allowed the 
part or place that comes to him naturally, and with- 
out contrivance — whether it be easy or difficult, 
small or great in importance. Let each show, thus, 
what he does know, and what he knows not ; what 
he knows perfectly, or superficially ; what he recites 
fluently, or with hesitation. There should be no 
culling to favor indolence, or capacity, or age, or 
deficiencies from absence during term time ; let 
things take their course, the hard and the soft 
things falling where they may — explanations, when 
necessary, being given, from time to time, by the 
teacher. 

Often a good scholar trips on a very small parti- 
cle, and a bad one slides along happily through a 
great difficulty ; and this, sometimes accidentally, 
sometimes of purpose : the good scholar despising 
the small, and expecting the grand ; and the bad 
one having specially prepared on the difficulty, thus 
to atone for, or hide, his radical deficiencies. The 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 247 

most sagacious teacher is not always a match for 
ingenious calculation and contrivance ; and it is not 
very wonderful that a stranger should be " done " 
by a cunning school-boy, and afterwards laughed at 
for his easy credulity. Opportunity must be given, 
that one boy may show that his single failure was an 
accident, or an oversight ; and that another may 
not impose a single satisfactory answer, or fluent 
recitation, as a fair specimen of his attainments. 

Dissatisfaction is the ultimate result of superficial 
examinations. If a pupil is in reality a fine scholar, 
and a parent has reposed a manly confidence in the 
teacher ; and if, from his want of care, such a pupil 
has no fair opportunity of appearing in a true char- 
acter, and is deemed by strangers on a level with 
the idle or inexpert, that pupil will sooner or later 
be removed ; and usually the teacher will be left to 
guess the reason. Or if, on the other hand, a pupil 
has been idle, and yet is permitted to pass for an in- 
dustrious and good scholar, a parent feels uncomfort- 
able when congratulated undeservedly by friends, 
and secretly despises a school and system where 
falsehood is in the garb of truth ; or he loses all 
confidence in the sound judgment, if not the in- 
tegrity of the master. And as to the pupils them- 
selves, from unfair examinations, every feeling of 
discontent and of contempt arises ; and all induce- 
ment to manly and generous exertion and competi- 
tion is removed. 

Such are the inevitable tendencies of bad exam- 
inations. The master may, indeed, arrest or retard 
the consequences, by an open, candid and honorable 



148 



CHAPTER IV. 



disclosure of all the facts in regard to each pupil ; 
and that he should in justice to the pupil, and in self- 
defence, always do, where,' from any accident or 
oversight, a false impression is likely to be left on 
the minds of examiners or spectators and auditors. 

The other thing indispensable to a good examina- 
tion, is a competent examiner. 

Before proceeding with remarks on this point, the 
author would say, that many gentlemen who are 
often solicited to take upon them the office of exam- 
iners, are, in all respects, eminently qualified ; that 
their method of examining is worthy all praise and 
imitation ; and that they bestow a great favor upon 
a school and upon society in undertaking the severe 
labor of the task. The remarks that follow can 
have, therefore, no application, in their censuring 
character, to these scholars and gentlemen. In- 
deed, the learning, the candor, the gentleness, the 
benevolence often witnessed in these by the writer 
at various examinations, are suggestive rather of 
the following remarks ; it being desirable that all 
examiners should resemble the persons that are 
now praised, and on behalf of the profession, thanked. 

An examiner should well understand the subject 
of examination. He should know, not merely the 
prominent places or things isolated, but the subject 
as a whole, and its details and connections. A knowl- 
edge of the easier things only, begets disrespect in 
a class and in the intelligent spectators, and makes 
many suppose that such comparatively trifling mat- 
ters are unw^orthy the many months bestowed on 
them by the class. A knowledge of some few diffi- 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 249 

culties only, causes an examiner to confine himself 
to the better portions of a class, and tempts him to 
" stump" the poorer scholars ; for there were many 
things these scholars knew, and knew well, but these 
the partial examiner either did not know, or injudi- 
ciously undervalued. Hence, a portion of the class 
would be treated with injustice. 

An examiner of this partial character often wan- 
ders off, and asks questions connected, indeed, with 
a subject, but rather in its practical bearings on his 
own special art, trade, or profession. Of this rela- 
tion the class knows little or nothing, and during 
its school days need know little or nothing. The 
class is ready for examination on the subject in its 
theory, and as it is treated in a text-book. After 
the examination has been restricted to this book, 
till examiners are satisfied, then excursions are al- 
lowable, often desirable ; and in arithmetic and all 
kindred and similar subjects, a boy may be asked 
properly enough, at the proper time, to " cipher 
beyond his book." 

jVot rarely is it the case that, if an examiner knows 
many things not in the book, he is ignorant of more 
that are in it ; and the class does, in reality, know 
the subject, as a w^hole, better than he. True, they 
have failed, it may be, to answer his questions ; but 
change the relations of the two, and he can answer 
few or none of theirs. Many a man who thinks he 
has confounded a class, could, in turn, be discomfit- 
ed and routed by the class. The stumper would 
be stumped. 
An examiner should be not cnly willing, but able, to 



J 50 CHAPTER rv. 

let boys tell and show all they know and have done. 
But this he cannot do if unacquainted with their text- 
books. There is reason to fear that occasionally 
examiners delight in-stumping boys — some from im- 
proper temper, and many from misconception of the 
office of an examiner. It is cynical purposely to 
confound a class ; and yet a class is often purposely 
confounded, where the disposition of an examiner is 
really amiable. He mistakes the end of an exami- 
nation, which is to ascertain what has been learned 
and how it is understood. The true critic can dis- 
cover wheat as well as chaft'. The true examiner 
can find something to praise as well as blame. But 
if it be resolved, either from misconception or mal- 
ice-prepense, to stump a class, it will, indeed, in all 
likelihood be stumped ; and yet it will not be exam- 
ined. It may be possible thus to show what may 
not be known, but not what is known ; and that is 
injustice — injustice to teacher, scholar, parent, 
school, community ! Besides, a certain manner 
alarms timid boys, confuses slow thinkers, and pro- 
vokes all, till they cannot tell what they do know, 
and will not tell if they can: boys w^ill not, at such 
times, give even a bone to a dog. 

A benevolent, a parental, yes, a respectful man- 
ner is due to a boy ; he feels manner, and then acts 
spontaneously. Hence, some men show off — and 
honestly, justly — show off a class, either stumped by 
others, or so treated that they would not answer. 

The term just used, is used with consideration ; 
for why, pray, may not a class be shown off? Ought 
it not to be shown off? If, indeed, a class be made 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. jgj 

to show what is superficially known, as if well 
known ; if trifles are represented as weighty ; if, in 
short, any deception is practised upon spectators or 
parents, all that showing off is mean as well as dis- 
honest ; but if a class can be made to show off flu- 
ently, brilliantly, all they ought to know, and which 
they do fully and fairly know, that is not only right 
and honorable, but a failure or incompetency to do 
this, is itself unjust and worthy severe rebuke. 

A teacher has a perfect and manifest right to make 
his class appear as it is. It is folly most preposterous 
to ask or expect him not to exhibit his workmanship 
— the result of his art. The musician, the painter, 
the poet, every tradesman, professor, artisan, is ex- 
pected to *' show off" in a good sense — to put his 
work or labor in its best light. And yet, when 
classes in a school do extraordinarily well, how often 
does a contemptuous and ill-mannered sneer coun- 
teract the proper effect ? *' The class was shown 
off!" And so it was — and so it should have 
been. He that can, when corrected in his mis- 
take, hereafter thus sneer at a splendid and yet 
honest examination, provided he have learning and 
sense adequate to judge, does himself deserve to be 
*' shown off" in another sense, and " done up" also. 

To some this may seem severe. It is not so 
severe as is often merited. A long and intimate 
acquaintance with all that belongs to the profession, 
compels the author to believe that some folks who 
pretend to examine, and some, who affect to judge, 
deserve the application either of " the nine tails," or 
nine rulers. Some ever and anon speak and act at 



152 



CHAPTER IV. 



examinations as if all teachers were impostors, and 
Jill schools humbugs — and they the men to make the 
expose. 

Examiners, who occupy the platform or chairs at 
an ^examination, either at the request of an independ- 
ent teacher, or by legislative enaction at schools 
sustained by law, should ever bear in mind, that 
there is not the place for the unnecessary display 
of their own reading or acumen. How often do 
examiners wander, at a slight temptation, into a field 
away from the true one, to display their treasures ? 
or ask a question which can be answered by none 
save themselves 1 perhaps not even by the principal 
or any assistant ! And then some other examiner, 
provoked or tempted, demurs, doubts, questions the 
questioner, till all the grave doctors are involved in 
a discussion. The class meanwhile remains, some 
staring, some slyly pinching and pushing their neigh- 
bors, and others quizzing at the squabblers on the 
stage, — and all of opinion that no small latitude 
should be indulged to the boys, where their masters 
have so much. Finally, the hour is gone, and the 
class retires — unexamined ! the teacher is baulked 
in his hopes — the parents provoked — the boys dis- 
appointed — the school hurt ! — all because the exam- 
iners, instead of showing the boys off, preferred 
showing themselves ! 

There is one impertinence — (very rarely exhib- 
ited, and yet it has been seen) — an impertinence 
provoking almost beyond endurance. An empty- 
headed, supercilious, conceited fellow attends the 
examination of some modest and laborious young 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. J53 

teacher, and vexed at getting an improper answer 
from some dunce, asks with surprise — "What! have 
vou never been taug-ht that?" 

'* Yes, my lord /" the young teacher might reply ; 
"yes, an hundred times ! but the boy has forgotten 
again, as for months, whenever that, and similar 
questions have been asked of him." Prudence or 
self-respect restrains what more is thought — " Sir, 
your insolence is insufferable ! leave the room !" 

An examiner, to say all in a few words, should 
be a good general scholar ; specially acquainted, if 
not versed, with what he examines about ; desirous of 
doing justice to all parties ; happy when an exami- 
nation goes off well ; full of generous confidence in 
the teacher ; never yielding to the temptation of 
needless display of his own learning ; patient to en- 
dure the fatigue of the whole hour ; himself a pa- 
rent, or at least a person fond of young people ; and 
lastly, one who perceives the value and importance 
of schools to the welfare of the State. 

Provided examiners of the proper kind can be 
procured, the favor they bestow upon a teacher is 
great ; and they well deserve, at his hands, thanks. 
But, generally, a teacher, even when examiners of 
his own choice are present, should commence the 
examination of every class himself; and when the 
class has been exhibited as it really is, then it may 
be committed to the other examiners for such cross- 
examination as may be deemed proper. A teacher, 
as any other workman or artist, may reason- 
ably expect to set forth his own performance, or 
workmanship : when set forth, it is ready for criti- 



154 



CHAPTER IV. 



cism. Many, very many little accidents of an unto- 
ward kind arise, even when the most excellent and 
benevolent examiners commence with a class, un- 
less they are accustomed to examine in the manner 
of the teacher ; and these little inconveniences 
either materially defeat his rational hopes, or mar 
the beauty of his exhibition. And surely none is 
so insensate as not to see why the teacher fears 
this frustration of his hopes, or so cruel as to be 
indifferent to his feelings ! Would any daub a por- 
trait, or mutilate a statue, at the moment the artist 
withdrew the curtain to reveal his approximation to 
the beau ideal ? If so, then would he voluntarily 
confuse, perplex, awe a class, the moment it was 
presented for examination. 

But whoever examines, whether teacher or friend, 
this examiner should be uninterrupted till he has 
done. Others present should, on no pretext or from 
no temptation, break in with a question — unless 
the teacher wishes to explain the situation of the 
class or a pupil. This is common ; but evidently it 
savors of disrespect to the examiner. Often the 
question of the others is wholly unnecessary ; since 
the examiner, if not interrupted, would in due time 
have asked that very question. The proper time 
for the others is when the examiner has satisfied 
himself, or has occupied the allotted time ; and then 
any one who wishes further examination can pro- 
pound his questions ; but he should avoid any allu- 
sion to his predecessor's error or inattention. 

Upon tlie whole, proper examinations, and prop- 
erly conducted, are advantageous to the school and 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 



155 



to the community : all other examinations are at 
best " a bore," often, a nuisance. The present chapter 
may be concluded with a few remarks on a subject 
closely connected with examinations — Exhibitions. 

Exhibitions are, in reality, examinations in read- 
ing, speaking, and writing. They are continuations 
of the examinations. Like all other matters, they 
may be good, bad, indifferent. When indifferent, 
courtesy may incline the spectators to endure the 
infliction with little external wincing ; but a bad 
exhibition is too insufferably ridiculous and painful 
for ordinary kindness or art to control the faces of 
the patients. Some things must be almost perfect 
for exhibition — paintings, statues, music : others 
must be at least good ; and of this sort is a school 
exhibition. 

A bad exhibition consists of speeches illy selected, 
prepared with no care, and delivered without art, 
and, therefore, spite of seeming paradox, without 
nature : add, want of taste and skill in the whole 
arrangement. Such are not only intolerable ; they 
are of mischieyous tendency, both in regard to the 
people and the scholars. They should be forbidden 
by an act of the Legislature. 

We have many excellent books on the theory and 
practice of elocution : some are worthy of all 
praise ; and yet many schools seem unacquainted 
with these works, or do not know how to use 
them. Perhaps many, after all that has been writ- 
ten, determine ''to let common sense guide, and 
nature take her own course ;" the admirable results 
of which compendious, labor-saving process, is seen 



156 CHAPTER IV. 

once or twice a year, in town or country, in the 
wonderful absurdities in the way of public reading 
and speaking at exhibitions. If all this is nature, 
art can beat her ! 

But, while a bad exhibition is disgustful and 
harmful, a good exhibition is a rich treat to the 
hearers, and highly advantageous to the scholars. 
That it is a pleasure to people of sense and refine- 
ment, is apparent from the eagerness with which 
such crowed to any place where a good exhibition 
is expected ; from the profound attention through a 
whole evening when the expectation is realized ; 
and the spontaneous applause that breaks forth, and 
even when its external showing is discouraged, per- 
haps deprecated. That it is useful to scholars, all 
teachers that know what good exhibitions mean, 
can testify. And who but can see that it must 
naturally elevate the character of a boy, when he 
feels himself of sufficient consequence to aid in 
drawing a company of intelligent and cultivated 
persons of both sexes, to hear him read or speak? 
to know that he is heard with pleasure — nay, with 
a marked interest and fixed admiration ? He is more 
and more fearful of stepping down from his moral 
eminence : he discovers himself in a superior caste, 
and will not lightly lose it. 

Evils are doubtless incident here, as in all compe- 
titions, or aspirings ; but these evils are not peculiar 
to schools. Manly, honorable, generous competi- 
torship is inseparable from active life. It meets us 
everywhere ; and without it life would become a 
stagnant pool exhaling its pestiferous miasma ; while 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 



157 



with it, life is a noble river, bearing on its rolling 
waves health, honor, enjoyment, happiness, pros- 
perity. By nature, we are sensitive to praise and 
blame. In accordance with a law of our constitu- 
tion, rewards of some kind may be held out as col- 
lateral inducements to virtue. Reward is proposed 
in the Word of God, and bestowed upon men by the 
Author of our being. The blessed Saviour himself 
had ''an eye to the recompense of reward;" and an 
apostle exhorts men so to run that they may obtain 
a prize — " a crown of glory and reward." 

Difficulty doubtless exists in arranging a system 
of rewards and accessory excitements. Teachers 
would certainly often consult their own ease, some- 
times their own emolument, by affording no oppor- 
tunity of generous emulation ; and thus permitting 
the somewhat stormy elements of human nature to 
sleep undisturbed beneath the smooth and stagnant 
surface. But when the pupils emerge from this 
quiescent pool, and come suddenly, unarmed, unprac- 
tised, untutored, amidst the tumultuating waves and 
angry storms of unavoidable rivalry and competi- 
torship, they must be vanquished, or retire, alarmed 
and spiritless, from many important and active du- 
ties and enterprises of life. Education is incom- 
plete, if the soul be not strengthened by the manly 
and emulous and friendly contests of honorable com- 
petition. 

One means or opportunity for proper display, for 

manly competition, for the rewards of approbation 

and praise from worthy men, citizens and friends, 

is furnished by an exhibition. The abuse of this, or 

8 



158 



CHAPTER \V. 



the failure to have a good one, from the indolence, 
the incompetency of the teacher, or other cause, 
we cannot admit as argument against the whole sys- 
tem. Several things, however, are indispensable in 
procuring a good exhibition. 

The principal, or his vicegerent, or whoever pre- 
pares for the exhibition and superintends it, must be 
a man that enters into the feelings of the boys — and 
like a boy ! He may moderate himself; he is not 
expected to behave exactly as a boy ; he is ex- 
empted from talking loudly and earnestly, from 
jumping, clapping his hands, from hurrahing in the 
exuberance of joyous feeling ; but he must look as 
if he would do all, if he dared. Nor must this be 
an exterior garb put on for the occasion, or for pol- 
icy's sake — which, however, boys will respect, for 
they always respect v*^hat is evidently done to please 
or profit them ; but the principal must struggle to 
repress a spring bubbling up from a warm youthful 
heart. That boys love ! And then they will hur- 
rah for the exhibition ; and if they do not, it will be a 
failure. 

Enthusiasm will do much. It will not, however, 
do all. There must be the most laborious and 
artistical drill. Speeches must be selected accord- 
ing to age, size, capacity, voice, port, mien, of every 
boy. And every word, nay, almost every syllable 
and letter, must be analyzed, weighed, mastered. 
But love for the master and enthusiasm will carry 
all safely through. Otherwise, all will be mere 
labor, spiritless and profitless. In regard to selec- 
tions, a single word of caution is deemed necessarv, 



ARRANGING AND MANAGING THE MATERIAL. 



159 



because the evil alluded to is common, almost uni- 
versal. No speech with direct addresses to God, in 
the manner of a prayer, should be chosen ; nor 
should that venerable name be unnecessarily re- 
peated in an exhibition speech. Other w^ords can 
easily be substituted, and a slight periphrasis avoid 
all irreverence. At least, this may akoays be done 
with prose composition, and very often with po- 
etical. 

Manifestly, whoever drills or prepares for the ex- 
hibition must know well, if not thoroughly, all that 
belongs to reading and speaking. If he possesses 
power in practice, still better ; and then if suitable 
time be bestowed, and the material be of average 
good quality, the exhibition will be good. Let it be 
specially noticed, that no time whatever is necessa- 
rily taken from what are deemed the more impor- 
tant studies. Yet, why elocutionary exercises are 
not among the most important studies, and why they 
should not have due time, it would be a very diffi- 
cult undertaking to show. All other, knowledge, 
and the hard study of long years, is often absolutely 
useless for want of proper drilling in elocution ! Still, 
beyond the ordinary time given every week to com- 
positions and speeches, in most academies worth the 
name, scarcely an hour need be used in preparing 
for an exhibition. This may surprise some ; but 
many teachers who present the most elaborate and 
tasteful and even recherche affairs, in this respect, take 
only the ordinary time, and the "odds and ends" of time 
that would otherwise be wasted, or applied to un- 
worthy uses. Brick — and very fine, pressed, smooth 



160 



CHAPTER rV. 



brick — may be made by the skilful master, and yet 
the boys be made to find straw without diminishing 
aught of daily tasks and studies. The properly ex- 
cited and skilfully directed enthusiasm of the boys 
will " scatter them through all Egypt," in joyous 
search of material. 

Here, too, is a secret. Expectation looking to the 
end of a term, and labor employed at play hours for 
that end, is, first, a healthy incitement as to other les- 
sons, and secondly, a safety valve for the steam of 
exuberant feeling, that would often otherwise ex- 
plode in mischief and rebellion. Hence good exam- 
inations usually attend good exhibitions. Idle fel- 
lows, too, who without the exhibition would have 
learned nothing, will, for fear of being left out, study 
2i little daily. Sometimes they turn into studious fel- 
lows ; and where that is not the case, they at least 
acquire reading and speaking. 



CHAPTER V. 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. 

Education divides itself into public and private. 
The comparative excellency of these kinds has ar- 
rayed hostile opinions. But to the vast majority of 
persons, whatever be the preference and the rea- 
sons for that preference, there can be one choice 
only — the public. Domestic training of children in 
all that is important and desirable, is possible to very 
few ; while a number that can be counted, ready to 
pay lavishly for private tutors of the proper char- 
acter, find that these cannot be obtained. 

Wherever choice is possible, where necessity 
compels not to this surrender of a manly independ- 
ence, the best men and the best teachers will hardly, 
for a princely estate, merge their identity into that 
of a household. They feel this a species of service 
little superior to that of a head servant. Some ex- 
cellent and learned persons may condescend to be- 
come private tutors and governors in regal palaces, 
and princely domes — the specialty of the case 
makes them willing ; but generally all such men 
feel it a species of degradation, a sinking of the 



152 CHAPTER V. 

teacher into the pedagogue. In countries where 
the democratical lineaments are strong in the fea- 
tures of society, men that can do anything else, will 
not become private tutors. They will never dig 
with a little hoe on one sterile patch, when they can 
drive a plough and furrow up a thousand fertile 
acres ! Never will they voluntarily circle around, 
wheel-like, in a single groove, w^hile they can roll 
like a free locomotive over a wide-spread prairie 
world ! They nurse no hot-house plants, who can 
grow an hundred sturdy oaks ! Be it so — that some 
prefer to nourish a brood long after fledging ; others 
that can have a public school, will not sit, goose or 
gander, over effeminate cacklings ! 

This repugnance at becoming private tutors, and 
the fact that few of choice do become such, or long 
remain such, show, among others, two things : the 
impossibility of making private education general, 
and the probability that private education, if pos- 
sible, is not the better, nor more desirable. 

Here, then, further remark may be arrested as to 
its influence on the conduct of the majority of pa- 
rents ; yet they who are forced by circumstances to 
educate in company, or in public, may be measura- 
bly consoled by the fact that education in good pub- 
lic or associate schools is superior to private or sol- 
itary education ; and that wise men act as if they 
so believed, preferring of choice the former to the 
latter, when they themselves teach. 

Objections to public education concentrate into 
this : the necessity of exposure to bad company, the 
contagion of evil example, and the harm to elegant 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SOllTS AND VARIETIES. ^(53 

and refined manners from contact with occasional 
vulgarity, or less refinement and polish. 

Solicitude, on the score of morals, cannot be too 
great ; and evil tendency, generated or increased 
by community and companionship, if unchecked, or 
not counterbalanced by an opposite, may generally, 
and must in special cases, terminate in ruin tempo- 
ral and eternal. But while evil tendencies are not 
opposed in schools where religion is a subordinate 
consideration with teachers or trustees ; or where 
prevalent vice is constant ; or where parental influ- 
ence is in unison with the evil of the school ; it does 
not follow that schools may not have within them- 
selves countervailing influences for good, and that 
parental training may not coincide with their whole- 
some discipline and instruction. 

The amount of evil in most schools is over-rated 
and mis-stated. The character of the evil is often 
not even understood. Where domestics are em- 
ployed, and where any companions are allowed to 
associate with children, they will be exposed to as 
much evil at home as at school, not infrequently to 
more and greater evil. To isolate children so per- 
fectly as to cut them off* from all contact with evil 
is not practicable, nor is it desirable ; but if chil- 
dren are shut up, a kind of prisoners, within rooms 
and yards, separate from all playmates, they will 
yet corrupt themselves. This may not be in the 
ways and with the words of school-boys, but in w^ays 
and with words equally bad. We cannot bring a 
clean thing from an unclean ; children in puris natr 
uralibus, under the most favorable of domestic cir- 



164 CHAPTER V. 

cumstances, if yet suffered to be together a few 
hours every day, will demonstrate the truth of Da- 
vid's words, who confesses that " he was shapen in 
iniquity." The conduct of children, however 
guarded, soon confutes our philosophies, and it yet 
remains true, " what is born of the flesh is flesh." 
Besides, fences have loop-holes through which a 
wicked world will peep, and gates at which curious 
impertinence will intrude ; the idlers of streets, 
lanes and alleys, in unguarded seasons, will, in an 
hour, communicate as much contamination as a 
school in a week ! As well barricade against an 
atmosphere loaded with small-pox : pestilence, nat- 
ural or moral, equally scorns mechanical contri- 
vance ! 

But what if children could be isolated perfectly, 
and contamination sprang not up from within, and 
were fenced from without ! how deplorable the re- 
sults of excessive caution when these tender nurs- 
lings came to be launched forth on a sudden into the 
great world of. evil ! Temptation before had never 
assailed ; and resistance had never tested its own 
force, nor been trained to employ caution and skill. 
Peril would be as imminent as when the theoretic 
navigator is suddenly transferred from his diagrams 
and tables to the helm, to guide, for the first, a noble 
ship in a starless and Egyptian darkness, amid the 
howling billows of a raging sea, and the loud thun- 
dering of angry winds ! 

In all things practice is necessary. Strength must 
be tested and increased by trial of small difficulties, 
before it may grapple successfully with the great. 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. jgg 

Virtue thai would yield to-day will triumph to-mor- 
row. Children may become adults in years and 
size, and yet morally remain children ; but what 
was delightful naivete once, becomes now disgust- 
ful affectation. There is doubtless a sense in which 
the world may be known without our being con- 
taminated ; and, in a degree, children should have 
that knowledge ; for while needful contact with the 
world will, in time, give all important and indispen- 
sable lessons, these lessons may come too late for 
our own advantage and happiness. To this, and 
much similar argument, will be opposed an opinion 
of many worthy and yet mistaken people, that God 
will graciously interfere to protect our children in 
maturity, if we carefully guard them in childhood from 
all mingling with the world and exposure to its 
temptations. It may be so. Perhaps it is some- 
times the case that Providence specially, and almost 
miraculously, guards, where the conditions of his 
interference have been ignorantly overlooked ; yet, 
as reason is given for a guide, if we- overlook or neg- 
lect its teaching, we may be tempting, when we 
think ourselves trusting God. Too sedulous and 
suspicious a care of health, and a cowardly avoid- 
ance of every real or seeming danger, may ruin the 
health and spirits ; and so, too anxious guarding 
against moral evil, may produce it ! We may train 
up a child in the way he should go, and yet the 
very path may run near to, or occasionally intersect 
that path in which he should not go. If a child is 
to live in the world, he must be brought up in it as 
8* 



266 CHAPTER V. 

well as for it ; he must be taught how to discern 
the true path, however interlaced with a thousand 
false paths. 

As regards intellectual superiority, if proper emu- 
lation, always duly excited, and contests in endless 
succession, and the laws of sympathy in aiding asso- 
ciates, have anything to do with mental discipline, 
public education must excel private. Temper and 
disposition may be severely tried in school ; but 
that very trial must, in the end, render these more 
calm, less selfish, and less easily ruffled, A sweet 
may be more palatable by a tinge of bitter or acid. 
Good-nature is very often a mere negative quality, 
arising from well organized bodies, when all around 
is placid and cheerful, and where no great oppo- 
sition to the will is encountered ; but many a' boy 
deemed a mere non-pai'eil at home, for softness and 
amiability, becomes, afterwards, peevish and quar- 
relsome. If this woful change is discovered after he 
has been trusted among comrades at school, it is al- 
most invariably attributed to the influence of a pub- 
lic school. But the boy, during his domestic train- 
ing, had been tested by no temptation. He had 
" not known sin," indeed, because he had not known 
law adverse to his will ; but now came " knowledge 
of the law," and his true temper appeared. The 
touchstone revealed him. But the school is no 
more to be blamed for this, than the Gospel for that 
" sword " it so often sends. Strong and wholesome 
food disagrees with weak digestion. The bad grain 
of the boy's temper w^as always in existence — its 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. J 57 

visibility to the eyes of his fond parents, depended 
on a rubber. Happy when the disclosure comes 
early enough for a remedy ! 

If a prince is to be formed, who is expected to 
live, in most things, above and separate from his fel- 
lows ; or if a boy may be educated in a republic, that 
he move in self-called superior classes, in an upper 
caste, let him have private tutors. Let one teach 
him how to walk and dance ; another how to ride 
and fence ; another may give him the airs of high 
life, (unless he be born to all this, and take it natu- 
rally ;) and let separate teachers do for him every 
separate thing to be done, and we may attain the 
end. But if, in this country, boys are to live on 
something like Spartan equality, they must be edu- 
cated as associates. Fellow-feeling must be culti- 
vated by exercise ; but what exercise can be in a 
solitary or even domestic training, compared with 
the exercise in a public school ? Doubtless, much 
addressed to republicans as to a national education, 
savors of demagogism ; occasionally it is revolu- 
tionary, agrarian and anti-christian ; and yet none 
can fail to see that separate and private education, 
if very general, would be adverse to the best inter- 
ests of a republican government. Our endeavors, 
then, should be bent towards making public schools 
perfect, and not, because of a few evils and some 
abuses, to their annihilation. 

The complexion of manners is colored in the do- 
mestic circle ; the child reflects what there shines 
upon him. Foreign aid, if deemed indispensable, 
can easily be called in to impart additional graces, 



IQg CHAPTER V. 

and this without great interference with the train- 
ing of the school. But in regard to boys, what 
more innportant or necessary, what more manly and 
dignified, than the discipline of a properly con- 
structed gymnasium, under the charge of an ac- 
complished gymnast; to which is added the man- 
ners of his own home ? Perhaps, had the author 
moved all his life among the dancing world, and if 
ambitious of figuring and attitudinizing in saloons, 
on ** light fantastic toe," his taste would have been 
altered or rectified, and his obtuseness been prop- 
erly attrite to an edge ; but at present he cannot dis- 
cern what a man wants beyond the strength, grace, 
agility, and noble port of the gymnasium — all soft- 
ened and guided by the advice and manners of an 
intelligent father, mother, and sisters. If his home 
be vulgar in opposition to polite, in the fashionable 
parlance, no training of the body by foreign mas- 
ters can give a boy manners : the graces at home 
must mould, direct, elevate, refine, chasten ! n\the 
graces do not enliven and adorn the home, the boy 
can be refined only by intercourse, in after days, 
with the world. 

Schools are, indeed, some bad, and some good. 
Parents may, they must, prefer the good, the better, 
or the less bad. Justice to the children and to so- 
ciety not only allows, but demands this. But some- 
times the choice is between a bad school and ?io 
school. In that case, let parents unhesitatingly pre- 
fer no school — and that, whether the child can learn 
anything at home or not ; for nothing can be worse 
than a bad school, even if the schooling is bestowed 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. j QQ 

as a gratuity ! Yet no child need be idle, even if 
he cannot be schooled. If the means of the parent 
will not pay for such private tutors as may be got, 
and he cannot teach the boy himself, he may keep 
him at work, or send him to learn a trade. 

A boy apprenticed to an intelligent and benevo- 
lent master, who conscientiously affords opportuni- 
ties for mental culture, insists on that culture, and 
encourages the effort — a boy thus situated will, by 
his own exertions, learn vastly more than in a bad 
school ; and his morals will be as much safer as 
they would be in a church instead of a circus or a 
theatre. A bad school is not inferior to either a 
circus or a theatre ; evil, almost unmixed with good, 
can be learned in any of the places, although the 
evils may be different. 

Schools may be bad in two ways — intellectually 
and morally. The intellectually good may be morally 
bad ; but the intellectually bad are not often morally 
good. When inorally bad, however, whether from 
want of religious principles in the master, or the ac- 
cidental preponderance of evil principles in the 
scholars, or from any cause assignable or not, such 
schools are a source of moral pestilence and death ; 
and no intellectual advantages can in the least com- 
pensate for their existence. A good trade or any 
honest employment is preferable, even if the boy 
remains with the bare rudiments of an elementary 
education. Nay, solitary wickedness and idleness 
are not so bad as the associate and combined. 

But schools are intellectually bad. And this is 
likely to be the case wherever the mere elements of 



170 CHAPTEIl V. 

learning, or the easiest parts of any subject, are to 
be gone over again and again with countless itera- 
tion, month after month, and year after year ; and 
specially where the opinion is expressed or implied, 
that all education beyond is fit for the rich only and 
the aristocratic. Who has not noticed, that among 
narrow-minded and prejudiced persons there is often 
an affectation of vulgarity in the quality and style of 
living, and dressing, and eating, and talking, as if 
contempt and scorn were thus shown towards what 
they deem the better sort ? This affectation extends 
to education. It is full of pride and false humility. 
It is itself worthy the bitterest scorn of the good and 
wise. It is full of venom, and at every opportunity 
will spit forth its spite at industry, decency, and 
what is called honest pride. It levels down with a 
will and a vengeance. In such a school let not a 
boy remain an hour after he has once fairly and com- 
pletely gone around the circle of its studies and 
requirements. Remove him either to a higher 
school, or if that be not within our reach, keep him 
at home, or place him at any suitable trade or busi- 
ness. The mind requiring no exertion to learn at 
the third and fourth repetition, becomes listless ; and 
it loses in force and elasticity, if compelled to go 
over or around any more. It cannot live and thrive 
on the old food. It is done with the milk, and 
craves the meat of stronger learning. It learns to 
loathe the poor porridge, and turns with disgust from 
the whole dish of thrice-masticated hash ! Idleness 
follows inevitably, and soon viciousness and mis- 
chief. The real cause of the great idleness, and 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. ^^j 

wickedness, and vulgarity, and meanness of some 
schools, is — there are 'no studies ! Boys, poor and 
rich, must all degenerate in schools where they are 
compelled to beat again and again the often tramped 
path of easy branches. It is a law of nature. It 
must be so. Studies, therefore, should ever change 
from easy to difficult, although no subsequent use 
should be made of them, solely to preserve the morals 
of schools. 

Nothing is more dreaded by an experienced 
teacher, than when a boy is delivered into his care 
with some such formula as this : — 

" Here, sir, is my boy. I have had him for year 
after year at school, but he does not seem to im- 
prove any ; and yet he has gone over his studies a 
great many times. I have tried different schools, 
but yet he has rather gone back in his learning. 
He does not cipher any better than he did two 
years ago ; and I believe he has forgot English 
grammar ! And yet he is naturally a very good 
and industrious boy, and used to be head of his 
class ; but, somehow or other, he is rather idle and 
mischievous now, and will need watching. I think 
you may try him a spell, and let him go over his 
studies once more!" 

On this the heart-sick teacher suggests an altera- 
tion in his studies — a kind of change in the medicine 
and diet — the only thing by which the boy can be 
restored ; but he is quickly interrupted with a self- 
complacent and rather impatient remark : — 

** No, no, sir ! — I do not see what good that kind 
of learning will do my boy. We do not intend him 
for a doctor, nor a lawyer, nor an engineer, nor a 



172 



CHAPTER V. 



surveyor, nor the like ! Besides, that sort of thing 
makes boys proud ! ^Ve only intend the boy for a 
farm or trade, or maybe we shall put him into a 
store ; so that plain English reading, writing, arith- 
metic, and so on, is enough — ^good, plain education !" 
Alas ! the poor boy ! And so he is to be driven 
and coaxed, pushed and pulled, like a stubborn, ill- 
starred mule, around the old circle, but with a new 
driver — the sole advance in his education being in 
a change of schools ! Fortunate, indeed, if in 
going round again, he can remember what he once 
knew ! Fortunate, if to his stock of tricks he adds 
no new ones ; and if, instead of going the old circle 
of studies, he goes not a new circle of mischief! 
Silly parent ! place your boy at the trade now ! try 
no more schools unless you try new studies, and 
studies more difficult ! And alas ! poor schoolmas- 
ter ! thou must eat bread, and, therefore, the boy 
is received ; but it is a thorn to thy side ! — he is des- 
tined for thy ruler ! Yea ! whip and spur — thou hast 
a half brute to manage, and he will be a whole 
brute if he remains at school much longer ! The 
boy has used his studies all up ! — he will tramp them 
as waste fodder now under his feet ! Thou must 
complete the ruin of his mind ! Yes, weep, be- 
nevolent pedagogue ! well may thy soul be stirred 
at parental folly and stinginess ! Men will often sell 
their own souls to hoard up money for a son, to 
whom they will basely deny an education, because 
it would draw upon the hoard before the hour ! 
Oh ! folly insensate ! it knows not its own art aright 
— the true use of money ! 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. ^73 

Schools for instruction in the elements of knowl- 
edge not only must be, but they are indispensable. 
When used contrary, however, to their intention, 
thev are abused, and the abuse is mischievous. 
None w^ill contend that these schools should be 
used as places of seeming industry, but yet of real 
idleness ; places, where mistaken or penurious pa- 
rents may continue their children till they have 
reached an age deemed suitable for some business 
or trade ; places, where children may be kept out of 
the parent's way, and have the semblance of going 
to school, that the parents may not lose caste in so- 
ciety ? Nevertheless, primary schools are liable to 
this abuse ; and whoever insists, for any cause, that 
his son shall remain in a primary school after he 
has moderately well learned all there taught, injures 
the school. Nor can any plea of convenience, nor 
any plea of poverty, (pften the miserly whine of 
niggardliness,) atone for that injury. No clamor- 
ous twattle about education — sunshine and air — 
running waters — rich and poor — common branches 
— no voting — no grants of money — no combined ef- 
forts of a whole community, can make a school good 
used contrary to its intention. If a primary school, 
a primary school it is, and must be used as such. 
Use it otherwise, and it is ruined. It becomes a 
nuisance. The idle mind is said to be the devil's 
workshop : what shall we call an idle school ? And 
a school must become essentially an idle school, just 
in proportion as it numbers pupils who are again 
and again made to go over the same studies, after 
they fairly understand them. 



174 CHAPTER V. 

From the foregoing remarks we may be better 
able to determine, in some degree, the nature of a 
good school — that is, intellectually. 

The grand feature in a good school, is a limit in 
the range of studies. If a school aim at teaching all 
the branches that may properly be comprised in a 
course of education, from the elements of the child 
to those severe studies of the young man, that usually 
finish the course, there must, without accident, be 
confusion and failure. The tendency, or rather 
one tendency of the age, is to act en masse ; and 
this affects schools, as well as other places in which 
persons are associated. " Union is strength," is a 
very good maxim ; but the age misinterprets it. 
There may be agglomeration without union ; but by 
very many these separate and indeed opposite things 
are confounded. Mere agglomeration may be weak- 
ness ; for it may be wholly destitute of any cohe- 
sive principle. A school on a very large scale may 
have union, but the agglomerative power is all it 
can boast : it is a sand ball that is easily pulverized 
into its constituent grains. The very attempt to 
move it with suitable energy breaks it. A school 
of the conglomerate kind must have so many differ- 
ent instructors, and so much apparatus, and so many 
pupils, that one man cannot easily arrange and con- 
trol, without giving his whole time to the govern- 
ment ; and making it a special business, he is apt 
to over-govern and over-direct. The mass will not 
be simply governed. And there are all the various 
and opposite modes of teaching and governing ap- 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. J 75 

propriate to various and opposite studies, ages and 
capacities — so that all will almost inevitably become 
confusion ! 

This may happen, it does happen, where the con- 
glomerate school is honest, and intends to remain 
honest; but such a school is almost invariably 
found, upon nice inspection, to be dishonest. It has 
narrow^ed down and compressed into a nutshell all 
learning and science. It is full of patent books and 
patent systems for doing much work in a little time. 
It has a capacious hopper, in which wheat and 
cockle grain and chaff may all be one grist, and fall 
into a wondrous bolting sieve that shall sift forth 
nothing but prime meal ! The principal teaches a 
little of all things ; and with the aid of one or two 
subordinates, he will, in a few months, send out work 
that otherwise would require a dozen years and a 
score of professors ! Cheap clothing stores are not 
confined to the outer man : the inner man may be 
furnished for next to nothing, and *' fits" contrived 
at the shortest notice ! Generally speaking, the 
academies that set forth pompous bills, professing 
to teach a university course ; or a primary school, 
professing to teach an academical course, is dishon- 
est — and there is a bad school. This curious age, 
so fertile in empty wonders, has nearly legalized a 
word, or taken a vulgar word and stamped it as 
current in literature — humhug, with all its deriva- 
tives and cognates ; and that word seems to stare 
one in the face in certain advertisements and pam- 
phlets, discoursing so eloquently in favor of some 
late invention or discovery in the art of educating. 



176 CHAPTER V. 

One could hardly stare any more, if mesmerism 
should open a new school, and teach by rubbing the 
eyes instead of feruling the palms ! If heavenly 
things are thus taught, surely we may expect the 
earthly ! And then people of the weakest nerves 
will be the strongest scholars ! and the indolent and 
credulous will discover more than the industrious 
and cautious ! Happy era ! — we border on a golden 
age, when weak and strong will be on a dead 
level ! and all may shut their eyes and yet see all 
the arcana in the universe, and a mile or two be- 
yond the limit that vanishes into nothingness ! — a 
transcendentalism transcending the very German ! — ■ 
a bottomless abyss with yet a lower bottom ! 

From the preceding remarks, foundation may be 
seen for the customary arrangement of schools under 
three general kinds — the primary, the academical, 
the collegiate. Other names may be given these 
divisions: the primary may be called elementary, 
common ; the academical may be called high- 
schools ; the collegiate, universities ; but the grand 
distinctions themselves are real. And, when these 
distinctions are regarded, the end of an education 
is better attained, than by confounding them. If 
the distinctions are observed, then schools must be 
in separate places, have separate modes of teaching, 
be conducted by separate teachers, and be for pupils 
different in ages and attainments. It is no part of the 
author's plan to treat of these schools severally ; he 
could not do it without twattling — genius higher 
than his is competent: but he may say, that while 
men of talent and learning may find ample scope 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. J 77 

for all they have and all they are, in any kind of 
school, yet worthy men of less talent and learning, 
may be safely intrusted with many of the inferior 
schools. 

While, however, the grand division of schools is 
allowed to obtain, the advantages of that division 
cease whenever pupils fully prepared for a higher 
school are kept in a lower. In case a boy has, for 
instance, six years to be passed in schools, and two 
are sufficient for the primary or academical course, 
every day he remains beyond that two years is wast- 
ed, and both he and the inferior school are injured. 
And this rule applies to the repetition of a course of 
studies even in college. A young gentleman was grad- 
uated years ago at a distinguished college, and with 
distinguished honor — the seventh honor ; for which 
his comrades gave him a triumphal ride around the 
campus on a — rail! He determined to re-enter, 
and repeat the four years. His ambition was grati- 
fied, for he once more took the seventh honor, and 
was treated to a second rail ! But he was a liberal 
fellow, and spent, during the eight years of his col- 
lege life, one thousand dollars annually. A good 
school of any kind is good only while confined to 
its own nature. It is a stage-coach or a rail-road 
car, in which a traveller does not wish to remain 
after it has conveyed him to a given point on his 
journey, or back with which he will not return for 
the sake of travelling the same part of the road 
twice or thrice over, when once is sufficient. 

The ignorance, however, of many, even in an age 
of surpassing light ; the vanity of some teachers ; the 



1 78 CHAPTER V. 

profound nescience of many legislators, voted by a 
majority to be wise men ; the selfishness of dema- 
gogues ; the influence of wordy lecturers in lyce- 
ums ever spouting about education, " physical, mor- 
al, and intellectual ;" all these, wath other things pe- 
culiar to a talking people and a talking age, incline 
us to overlook, or disregard these, and most time- 
honored distinctions. In vain is it urged, that evil 
will arise if all schools are united or confounded : 
like the child that was dehorted from some amuse- 
ment because of the evil in it, we reply that we 
wish to see the evil that is in plans and schemes, as 
well as our fathers. The people often will that an 
evil shall exist ; and its sovereignty must be obeyed- 
A good school is rendered better by a compara- 
tively small number of scholars. The ratio of in- 
crease among the teachers, principal and accessory, 
must be a ratio direct with the number of pupils. 
In the best academies a teacher will be found ne- 
cessary for nearly every twelve pupils, especially 
where the studies are very numerous, and classifi- 
cation extensive. A primary school of the best 
sort, where only four or five branches are studied, 
requires a teacher for about every twenty pupils. 
In many places, perhaps it may be said, in most 
places, the public entertain opinions adverse to this : 
that, however, cannot alter truth or fact. In public 
estimation a flourishing school is a school of an hun- 
dred scholars. The number of teachers is not esti- 
mated. Indeed, the fewer teachers the greater 
the wonder ; or rather, it suits the spirit of the age, 
to see great results from little causes. An hundred 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. 179 

scholars and onlv one teacher ! On the contrary, a 
school of twenty pupils and two teachers, is an 
anomaly — it is a waste of power. A little stream ju- 
diciously treated will turn a dozen mills ! why should 
not one teacher he made to do an hundred boys? 
And yet, spite of the thousand analogies of utilitari- 
anism, a small school with several teachers, is incom- 
parably better than a school ever so large with but 
one master. 

Honorable, nay, many honorable exceptions are 
found to the following remark, as to all other simi- 
lar remarks, yet we could not count easily that 
number of parents who are too niggardly to pay for 
a good education ; and that in many instances where 
the value of such education is in a measure appre- 
ciated, if not in thought, at least in words. Such 
parents do not deserve a good education for their 
children. For a good education costs money ; and 
it should cost money. The popular sentiment, how- 
ever verbally opposed to agrarianism in lands, and 
goods, and chattels, loves it in education. There 
something is wanted without an equivalent — and 
something worth all the other good things of this 
life, so coveted by parents for themselves and their 
children. This is one true reason, often the only 
reason, that fine, bright, intelligent children are 
driven year after year around the circle of the same 
easy and elementary branches : — primary schools are 
comparatively cheap, and primary school-books 
are cheap ! The people, therefore, in numerous 
places, will combine and cram a school, and then 
vote it a flourishing school. They will give one 



2QQ CHAPTER V. 

teacher as many as a room can hold, and that is a 
good school. 

Alas ! the author has known a poor sickly teacher 
applauded, because, unaided, he labored by himself 
eight or nine honrs a day to teach some eighty pu- 
pils, that he might put a little bread into his mouth, 
and some coarse clothes on his family. His school 
was called flourishing ! The parents paid a few 
shillings a quarter, given out of their purses like 
drops of blood from their hearts ! But one fair 
morning the poor murdered victim of selfishness 
and hypocrisy fell down in his school, over-wrought, 
and was borne home to die ! And then his patrons ? 
— yes, patrons! — carried him to a grave, saying — 
" Poor fellow ! he was probably overwroug-ht !" and 
they shed tears as the earth was shovelled on his 
coffin. Tears ! — aye ! but those tears should have 
been a loud wail for their own ineffable covetous- 
ness ! But the spirit of the age says, ** Buy as cheap 
as you can ;" and the voice of conscience being 
hushed by a rule of political economy, the mourn- 
ers turn from the grave to look for another cheap 
schoolmaster. 

Granted, that many are too poor to pay anything 
for elementary tuition, and very many only a pit- 
tance ; and that the obligation is binding and the 
importance incalculable of making provision in some 
way, for the education of the poor ; is that a rea- 
son that teachers should work for nothing ? or is 
that a reason why people who can pay, and pay 
well, for education, should have it as a gratuity ? 
We may, indeed, bear each other's burdens; but 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. JQJ 

one man is under no obligation to bear a load that 
would break a camel's back. A whole village may 
not put the whole pack of their obligations on the 
back of a single schoolmaster. Teachers may give 
alms as they list. They ought not to demand less 
for their services to all, because they charitably ask 
a less fee from some ; no more than merchants 
should sell at cost, or give away their wares to all, 
because they benevolently do so to " the widow and 
the fatherless." 

No men are more justly entitled to fair prices, 
and often to very large prices, than truly qualified 
and competent teachers. And this, not barely be- 
cause of the value of what they give in return; but 
because of the great outlay of time and money 
necessary to prepare for their profession. Some 
teachers have spent a dozen years in preparation, 
and have laid out many thousand dollars : a capital 
of time and money, sufficient to have made them 
rich in merchandise, or at any mechanical art. Few 
persons can estimate the value of things where the 
results are produced with ease and in a moment. 
They must see the labor performed. Most can 
readily believe that a rail-road, a canal, or a ship is 
worth all the money asked for it; but they cannot 
understand why a painting or a statue should be 
held at many thousand dollars. Nor can they but 
be amazed that a Paganini should expect twenty 
guineas for a single " tune" performed on the violin ! 
A plain, but frank-hearted and sensible farmer once 
called at the office of a celebrated chief justice in 
the South, and asked him a very important question, 
9 



1^2 CHAPTER r. 

that could be answered in an instant, categorically 
—yes or no. ** No," was promptly returned. The 
farmer was well satisfied. The decision was worth 
to him many thousand dollars. And now the client, 
about to retire, asked the lawyer the charge for the 
information. " Ten dollars," replied he. " Ten 
dollars !" ejaculated the amazed farmer — '* ten dol- 
lars ! ! for saying .IVo .'" " Do you see" those rows 
of books, my friend ?" rejoined the chief justice ; 
"I have spent many years in reading them and 
studying their contents, to answer — J\''o." " Right ! 
right !" responded the honest farmer-—" right ! I 
cheerfully pay the ten dollars !" 

All this applies most appropriately to the compe- 
tent teacher. The most assiduous study of many 
books and of many subjects is necessary, before 
he can properly and compendiously answer yes and 
no ; but to the unthinking and the ignorant, that 
hear the replies and notice the easiness with which 
such words are uttered, the teacher seems to earn 
money without labor ! Nor can one, who sees not 
the daily toil — the mental toil — (and which, indeed, 
none but a thinker can see) — nor can he appreciate 
the kind and amount of labor bestowed to make a 
boy, even a willing boy, a scholar ! The art and 
difficulty in forming a good reader and a good 
speaker, few can understand ! Hence the labor of 
a teacher is too often paid with niggardliness ; and 
the pittance is paid grudgingly — as if a penny were 
given to be rid of the importunity of a beggar ! 

It is preposterous to urge that the majority of per- 
sons everywhere cannot pay a fair and usually a 



SCHOOLS, L\ THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. ^§3 

generous price for good education. The price 
might, generally, be paid without the curtailment of 
conveniences. Very many persons who put on a 
pitiful look, and use a whining tone, in cheapening 
a school-bill, pay generously enough for other things, 
even luxuries ! Nay, they heap on their children's 
backs more than enouG^h to fill their heads and store 
their minds, and adorn their persons, with the best 
learning, and the most manly graces ! There is a 
foul hypocrisy that affects to be poor, when a 
teacher is employed, that is mean enough to heg or 
the tuition freely given to the poor ! 

But if important curtailments were called for, 
what then ? Education is superior to all other mere 
earthly goods. Buying property is the pretext for 
" withholding what is meet'' from children ; but the 
best property is that education so undervalued ! 
This property is not affected by the rise and fall of 
stocks ; by tariffs ; by embargoes ; by non-inter- 
course ; by any of the innumerable changes incident 
to all other possessions. This is an inheritance not 
depending on the wording of wills, and the quibbles 
of law. The finger of God only, touching the intel- 
lect itself, can destroy its stores and deaden its 
force. Here is a rich and vast estate ever carried 
with us in a small compass : it cannot be stolen ; it 
cannot decay ; it will increase from its own use ! It 
may last forever ! A man who can educate his -chil- 
dren well, and who is unwilling to pay the price, is 
contemptible, and deserves rebuke when he dares 
insult competent teachers by any oblique petition, 
in a sneaking tone, to take less ! 



Jg4 CHAPTER V. 

Small hopes are entertained that the idolatry of 
covetousness shall be overturned by a few indignant 
words : the cry will be, in spite of truth, justice 
and generosity, in favor of cheap schools. But it is 
well to let covetousness know that it wears a veil 
of gauze, when it thinks itself screened behind a 
*' whited sepulchre." It runs its odious head into 
the bush, but its vile tail sticks out far enough ! 

Let us hear no more of poor schools and poor 
teachers. The public can have good schools, when- 
ever and wherever it chooses to pay for them. 
Small price generates small teachers ; and small 
teachers cannot make great schools. It is pitiable 
to walk through our flourishing villages, with stores 
rivalling the great cities ; with patrician residences, 
and tasteful cottages ; with large public halls, and 
all the appearance of wealth, luxury, affluence ; or 
to ride amidst farms equal in extent and richness to 
those of European lords and nobles ; and hear from 
town and country alike, the affected lamentation that 
they have no good schools ! Nor will they, nor 
ought they, while gold is dearer to their hearts than 
intellectual improvement. Let no mistaken philan- 
thropist offer to teach their children for nothing. 
Let no honest politician mistake and offer to get the 
aid of the legislature. What ! are these people in 
abject poverty ? Are they beggars ? Have they 
done the State such service that the State must 
educate their children? If demagogues weep over 
the poor people — are these the poor people ? What 
must be the poor that have no stores, no money, no 
farms, no conveniences, no luxuries, no elegant ba- 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES, jgg 

rouches, no capacious barns ? Oh ! what deep con- 
vulsive sobs would shake the demagogue's com- 
misei'ative breast, if these rich poor were the j)oor 
poor ! if these were the poor " that had no doors to 
cover them !" 

Men of talent, and tact, and energy may essay to 
teach in these mean neighborhoods ; but their inten- 
tion is only to make teaching a stepping-stone to 
law, medicine, divinity, politics ; while a few may 
feel impelled to teach, as others are impelled to 
preach. These latter will struggle on against pov- 
erty, and insult, and oppression, and scorn, even as 
some " hope on, and hope ever !" They are the 
great and godlike men ! They stand and walk 
forth the embodiment of dignity and grandeur ! — the 
surpassing excellence of the teacher's science and 
art ! But still, where the reward is wholly inade- 
quate, the majority of teachers must be incompe- 
tent ; and the competent will ever escape into other 
professions and employments, leaving the other 
teachers to eat the pittance unwillingly bestowed 
for their small services — the standing jest of every 
brainless dunce and malicious worldling, who rejoice 
to repay with contumely the well-merited feruling 
of their idle and vicious school days ! 

This is not the place to say how provision may 
be best made for the education of the truly poor. 
But not without reason is it now said, that multi- 
tndes who cry out for the education of the poor at 
the expense of the State, or of religious and corpo- 
rate charities, care little or nothing for the poor and 
their education ; they simply hope to avail them- 



Jgg CHAPTER V. 

selves of the poor man's school, at the poor man's 
price. The same dismterested benevolence would 
open its mouth in favor of a poor man's eating house, 
if it could dare to go in and eat for a penny what is 
worth a shilling ! Hence a poor man's school is so 
often filled with the rich man's children, that no 
seat remains vacant for the former ! — public-spirited 
and philanthropic persons love to set an example to 
the poor ! And so virtue has its reward ! Such 
excellency would, in its excess of zeal, shove pov- 
erty frorii the public soup-table, under cover of pa- 
triotism and condescension ! Hark ! the cry ! — 
"Let us all sit down together on the same school- 
bench — rags and robes ! let us all drink in learning 
from the same iron ladle !" But mark ! — the robes 
have filled the whole bench ! and the iron ladle is 
exhausted by patrician lips ! 

There are objections to legislative schools, which 
shall be stated in due time. The author, however, 
has noticed that persons, whose taxes for public edu- 
cation are less than the amount of fair and decent 
school-bills on independent principles, are usually 
favorable to the imposts — because, first, these people 
have an apology for obtaining the semblance of an 
education at less price ; and, secondly, they educate 
their own children at the expense, in some good 
degree, of men whose taxes, owing to greater 
wealth, are able to make up the deficiency of their 
own. Some prominent men, too, with words of 
kindness towards the poor on the tongue, and of 
patriotism, when their property is very great and 
liable to many and heavy taxes, contrive to put that 



SCHOOT.S. IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. JQ"^ 

property in a shape in which it cannot be so readily- 
taxed. When these have previously and openly 
resisted what they deem injustice and oppression, 
and have understood the humbug of mock philan- 
thropy and patriotism, we blame them not for es- 
caping the net and snare laid for their money ; but 
where they have themselves affected to be friends of 
wholesale systems of education, and then take such 
methods of avoiding their natural share of burdens 
imposed by themselves, their conduct is despicable. 
The avarice, the cupidity, the cunning of men, aim- 
ing to get something for nothing ; or their real in- 
difference to the value of what is apparently sought, 
accounts for the failure of many schemes of pretend- 
ed philanthropy and patriotism. These are noisy, 
but shallow streams ; there is at heart no perennial 
fountain of living waters. One gush exhausts all. 

To speak in general terms, we conclude that 
schools, to be good, should be rather small than 
large in the number of pupils ; the teacher 
should be liberally paid, and honorably trusted. A 
departure from these principles, verges towards an 
evil or bad scliool. If, however, schools are neces- 
sarily large in the number of the pupils, the num- 
ber, also, of competent teachers should be in- 
creased, that the equilibrium be preserved ; al- 
though a very large school, with a sufficient number 
of competent teachers, is apt to be inferior to a 
smaller school. Pupils enough for spirit and emu- 
lation, and variety of companionship, is the max- 
imum ; more dilutes, and interferes with a prompt 
and concentrated government. 



188 



CHAPTER V. 



Thus far, schools have been considered as day- 
schools, in which pupils are under the care of a 
teacher during the school-hours, but reside with 
their parents or guardians. A kind, or class of 
schools, combining the advantages of a family and 
a school, remains to be considered — boarding- 
schools. 

The most important consideration here, is the 
comparative excellency of boarding-schools. Sup- 
posing that the day and the boarding-school are 
alike in size, in teachers, in pupils, in morals, and 
other matters, we incline still to believe that board- 
ing-schools are preferable. For, however excellent 
the mental and moral discipline of a family, it can- 
not surpass that of a proper boarding-school ; it 
rarely equals it. During the hours of relaxation, 
but more especially, those hours necessary for stu- 
dying beyond the mere school-time, children cannot 
be so well regulated in a family, as where the whole 
is a business, and the system is formed with a view 
to this necessity ; and that is the case in a boarding- 
school. Unforeseen interruptions must occur in pri^ 
vate families, and from a thousand causes, which 
prevent any attention to a lesson at home ; and yet 
that attention is always important, and sometimes 
indispensable, to success in scholarship. The weather 
forbids constancy and punctuality, so that many a 
good student is hindered and discouraged by this 
unavoidable accident. Beside, many boys and girls, 
in passing to and from school, are often exposed to 
temptations and dangers, that are worse than any 
evil^ in the day-school itself. 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. jgy 

It must be granted, that nothing is superior to the 
moral influence pf a well-ordered and religious 
family ; and where any moderate ^attention to the 
superintendence of studies in such a family is pos- 
sible, it seems not advisable that the children should 
ever be sent to any boarding-school. A certainty 
ought not to be yielded to a doubt. But it is also 
true, and beyond all question, that on the score of 
religion and morals, a boarding-school, under moral 
and religious control, is greatly preferable to a 
family, in which serious matters are neglected or 
of secondary consideration. A boarding-school, to 
many, is an ark of safety. It does for them, what 
has been neglected by their own parents. It is ac- 
tually, to some, the door to heaven ! Here we speak 
understandingly and confidently ; and our words 
would be true, if all printed in capitals. A child in 
a good boarding-school has been known to become, 
at least externally, transformed, that had come in 
*' so questionable a shape" as to render a pause 
necessary, and a doubt whether it would be safe to 
admit such to the bosom of the family, and whether 
it would comport with pledges given or implied, in 
regard to parents of the other pupils ; and yet that 
child has, after some years, gone away regretted 
and honored, and even referred to as a model fit 
for imitation. 

A good boarding-school is, in fact, to many, a pre- 
cious privilege — a privilege that may well be cov- 
eted. In such a school, religion is, of necessity, 
wrought in with the whole texture of duty and dis- 
cipline. Without being the business exclusively of 
9* 



190 



CHAPTER V. 



the school, it belongs to all the business. It mingles 
with the studies, with the rebukes, ihe chastisements, 
the rewards, the counsels, the approbation. Boys 
see how it is possible in all things to regard the au- 
thority of God, and how all may be employed in 
His service. Beside this, religion has its altar in the 
family ; and praise and thanksgiving ascend night 
and morning. God is implored for pardon, for illumi- 
nation, for sanctification, for guidance, for salvation ; 
and He is publicly worshipped on the Sabbath in 
the congregation of the people. A jealous eye 
watches and guards the morals of the pupils ; and 
great care is exercised to defend from all wicked- 
ness and impurity. 

Sectarianism is no necessary part of all this reli 
gion. But any sectarianism, if it contain any of the 
vital principles of Christianity, is infinitely prefera- 
ble in a boarding-school to no religion. Perhaps we 
may be classed among the strong opponents of a 
papistical religion ; but we had rather by far send 
to a boarding-school where such sentiments were 
even taught, than where religion was not taught at 
all. A man may, perad venture, discern the truth, 
however variegated with false colors, or overlaid 
with gilding. The pearl of great price may ray 
forth its light through rubbish ; but it is impossible 
to perceive the truth where it is not, or find a jewel 
where none is lost or concealed. 

As a general rule, very young children are safer 
at home than at even a good boarding-school. Mo- 
thers, certainly, are the best teachers and guardians 
for such. But where necessity requires, very young 



SCIIOOLP, IN THEIR KINjJS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. jqi 

children are cared for as honestly, often, as at home ; 
while many improper and hurtful indulgences are 
withheld. 

In a word, we may say a good boarding-school 
is the combination of a family and a school. Where 
that combination is perfect, the school is excellent. 
The degree of excellence varies with the variations 
of the constituents. Keeping in view this definition 
boarding-schools, manifestly, should never be large. 
A household of twenty-five pupils is, perhaps, a max- 
imum : possibly, fifteen or twenty is a better num- 
ber. Yet very far be it from us to say, that most 
".ellent boarding-schools may not be, where twice 
V r thrice these numbers are found; but still the do- 
mestic constituent is in jeopardy, whenever the num^ 
ber of pupils is so great as to change i\\Q family as- 
pect. True, Asiatics sometimes have sons enough to 
ride on " threescore mules ;" but w^estern families, 
with one mother, are usually much smaller ; and our 
analogy must be restricted to the occidental sun. 

The courtesies of the table, and of ordinary inter- 
course, are better secured among a small number of 
boarders ; and the importance of manners no wise 
man can fail to see — none can undervalue. Man- 
ners in a boarding-school may not be fine and ele- 
gant, but they may always be pleasing ; yet they 
cannot be pleasing, if indecorum at table is allowed • 
and it must more or less prevail, when a large num- 
ber of boys is there. But a great objection against 
boarding-schools, is found in the partial destruction 
of a home-feeling ; for when the sensibilities are 



292 CHAPTER V. 

blunted or deadened, many virtues of a mild and 
amiable character suffer. And boys governed 
wholly by authority, and not moved by love, are 
inclined to be slaves and not sons. Hence disobe- 
dience, insolence, mischiefs, rebellions in boarding- 
schools. The children, cut off from all family con- 
nections and feelings, become cold, unsocial, inimical. 
They set up opposite interests. The mellowing, 
and melting, and harmonizing influence of family 
and domestic feeling is wanting : they cannot 
amalgamate with the school. Two masses or bodies 
are in juxta-position : there should be a blending 
into one. Not a few boys need a mother, a father, 
a sister: that want unsupplied, renders them rest- 
less and unhappy. They submit to authority, but 
they hate it as tyranny. 

In proportion, however, as a boarding-school has 
few pupils, the objection has less force, and often 
loses its entire force. For with a few, the teacher 
and his family may with great propriety have such 
intercourse, as to supply, in a great degree, the 
natural cravings of the heart after home. It is not 
enough that the judgment of the children is con- 
vinced that the family is kind ; they must come into 
contact, and feel what is fatherly and motherly and 
sisterly in it. The heart requires touch to be moved. 
But this is almost impracticable in a large board- 
ing-school. There, the life is wholly by rule, ac- 
knowledged to be right, but felt to be cold. And 
nothing is so hurtful to a school, as chilled affection ! 
Y{g may be told, that in large boarding-schools 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. J 93 

* 

children are regarded as members of the family ; 
but it can be only pro forma — the actual fulfilment 
of the promise is next to impossible. 

The same mistaken parsimony that destroys or 
prevents good day-schools, does, in a degree, aflfect 
boarding-schools. Many are unwilling to pay a 
suitable price. Boarding-schools, therefore, if they 
exist at all, must, in some places, be large. High 
prices, with a limited number of boarders, not to 
exceed twenty, would, in reality, be cheaper than 
low prices and five times that number ; but an age 
that lives by sight and not by faith, can see little, if 
it must be seen through a large sum of money. A 
guinea may aid the vision of a corrupt judge ; but 
it has an opposite effect on the eyes of money-lov- 
ers — when the guinea is before them, they can see 
nothing else ! 

This chapter will be concluded with a few re- 
marks on Gymnastic Exercises. That boys should 
play, and play honestly and actively and joyously, 
even if somewhat boisterously, no man who has had 
jnuch to do with schools for a moment doubts. Nor 
does plenty of play, at suitable times, the least in- 
terfere with studies ; on the other hand, it greatly 
aids the studies. Generally speaking, the best schol- 
ars play the best ; although the reverse is not ne- 
cessarily true. But play and recreation may be 
made conducive to a very valuable purpose, sepa- 
rate from the beneficial result upon the studies. 
While a boy plays, he may be made to acquire pro- 
digious strength and activity ; and this, combined 



194 



CHAPTER V. 



with beauty of form and grace of movement. And 
that end, although it may be in some degree attained 
by any suitable exercises, such as running, leaping, 
playing ball, and the like, is more speedily and more 
effectually attained by the exercises of a properly 
regulated gymnasium. 

Good schools would be rendered better by this 
appendix to their studies and fixtures. That so few 
have gymnasiums must be entirely owing to igno- 
rance of their utility : it may, sometimes, be owing 
to misconception of their nature. A gymnasium 
may not be properly constructed ; or it may not be 
properly directed ; or it may not be directed at all, 
the pupils being left to self-instruction : in which 
cases, no very valuable results are to be expected, 
and sometimes hurtful accidents. In a proper gym- 
nasium, properly directed and governed, every mus- 
cle of the body is exercised and strengthened ; while 
accidents, except of a trivial sort, are by far less 
than at the ordinary sports of the play-ground. 
The exercises of the gymnasium may be taken in 
all kinds of weather, both in winter and summer ; 
and they will supersede, more or less, many games 
and plays — some doubtful in their character, and 
others trifling, if not silly. 

A gymnasium, by which is meant the house and 
the fixtures or apparatus, should be erected and dis- 
posed, under the direction of an experienced and 
practical gymnast. Without this, the instruments 
may be mere lumber. Besides, if the whole is done 
according to a suitable plan, few things are made to 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. 295 

answer many purposes ; and thus, many dollars are 
saved that otherwise would be wasted on needless 
fixtures. 

An instructor is necessary ; for the whole of gym- 
nastics is really an art, and that art has its principles. 
Without a teacher, deformity and weakness might 
be the result, by working in a wrong way, or at a 
wrong time. The gymnasium, too, if ungoverned, 
would, after the novelty had passed, degenerate 
into a play-house ; but while amusement and recre- 
ation are always found, work and labor are the es- 
sential features of a good gymnasium. Few will 
continue with perseverance and punctuality suffi- 
cient to reap the wonderful advantages, unless they 
are compelled. Hence, school-boys so often be- 
come expert gymnasts, while young men, who are 
their own masters, rarely excel. And hence, school- 
boys who are forced year after year to exercise in 
the gymnasium, shall, at eighteen or twenty, surpass 
most unexercised men of any age. Besides, their 
strength shall abide throughout life. 

The object of these exercises is not that men 
may perform extraordinary feats of strength or agil- 
ity ; and yet, so easy do difficulties become, that 
hundreds of exercises, accounted feats by strangers 
to the exercises, are done daily by boys, and without 
an effort or a thought. But when occasions in ac- 
tual life do arise, in which daring actions of strength 
and agility must be done, persons trained for years 
in gymnastic exercises will do them, as if they 
were only a little different from ordinary actions. 
Strange ! that spite of all the countless lectures and 



196 



CHAPTER V. 



essays on '* physical education," that sort of educa- 
tion should be so singularly neglected. True, under 
the impulse of the moment, attempts are every now 
and then made by young men at colleges or in villa- 
ges to exercise in gymnasiums ; but when the novelty 
is passed, and the labor remains, the enthusiasm sub- 
sides, and " physical education " is at an end. Board- 
ing-schools, however, ought not to neglect the phys- 
ical training of their pupils ; and they can easily be 
thus trained under a suitable instructor. This book 
professes to be the result of experience ; nor is this 
part of it any exception. The author has experi- 
enced, in his own case, the great advantages of a 
gymnasium. If ever there was a case where an 
allowable accommodation of Scripture words exists, 
it is his own — " youth renewed like the eagle's ;" 
and his deep and abiding conviction of the great ad- 
vantage of gymnastic exercises thus acquired by 
experiment, induces the author, for the sake of good 
to others, to obtrude himself. 

The present occasion is a proper one for saying 
that two things are very desirable, nay, almost in- 
dispensable addenda to all theological seminaries ; 
and, if it depended on the author, every orthodox 
theological institution in the land should have a 
gymnasium, and a teacher of reading and speaking. 

What more humiliating than the many puny, ill- 
formed, effeminate young clergymen ! — as though 
piety and paleness, theology and thinness, devotion 
and dyspepsy, were all twin sisters ! — as if the pul- 
pit were disgraced by able-bodied and robust minis- 
ters ! Surely false sentiments of dignity and consist- 



SCHOOLS, IN TIIETR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. J 97 

ency must be prevalent, if the effeminacy of young 
clergymen can be, for a moment, tolerated ; or if a 
feminine look and manner be deemed interesting. 
Alas ! it is sometimes considered indicative of extra- 
ordinary goodness ! And there are Pharisees that 
v^ould shudder at the thought of a gymnasium for a 
theological school, as if it savored of worldly-mind- 
edness. Many think that moral light is like natural, 
and cannot shine out of a man, unless through some 
transparency of the flesh macerated by fastings ! 

Silly sentiments are found among very good men. 
Religion does not wholly remove the weakness of 
the natural understanding. Affectation still clings to 
the naturally vain and priggish ; and these do the 
religious, as they were wont to do other things — 
they put it on in a style of their own, and wish to 
set a fashion for their brethren. These people often 
pet young clergymen and nurse them into a most dis- 
gustful semblance to themselves. But while they pity 
such for weakness, they had better rebuke them for 
sheer laziness ! Doubtless tobacco has slain some ; 
but laziness has killed more. A society for the 
suppression of inactivity, and for the promotion of 
" bodily exercise," would be just as wise, and quite 
as efficacious, as anti-chewing and smoking corpora- 
tions. The noxious weed might be allowed, if di- 
vinity students would work an hour a day in a gym- 
nasium. Nor does this permission arise from self- 
indulgence ; we neither snuff nor scent in the to- 
bacco line, except by way of good-natured endur- 
ance of the infirmity of the weaker brethren. 

Had the author power over other men's purses, 



1 93 CHAPTER V. 

or a purse heavy enough of his own, he would at- 
tach a ffvmnasium with its teacher to every theo- 
logical school ; and admit no student till he had 
pledged his word to exercise one hour daily in the 
gymnasium, Sundays excepted. He should make it 
a point of conscience. A teacher would be neces- 
sary at first only : young men could soon teach 
themselves, and some expert gymnasts would al- 
ways be in the school to instruct the new students. 
But a gymnast should be the first instructor. 

Dignity is useful in its place. It cannot be 
learned, however, and is very ridiculous and oflfen- 
sive when put on. Of itself it does little good, even 
where natural to men ; but where made a substitute for 
benevolence or active duty, it deserves to be laughed 
at. The truest dignity for a Christian minister is a 
faithful discharge of duty in his natural manner ; 
and to fit him for that discharge in the best way and 
for the longest period, health and strength are of 
prime importance. Perfumes, lassitude, and all the 
et cetera of clerical effeminacv, may be left to such 
as do not prefer hearty nature to sickly nicety. We 
need men for Protestant pulpits : icomen the apostle 
has forbidden to teach. 

As to Elocution, the author, with due deference, 
considers what usually goes by the name of Oratory^ 
as of very small account for the pulpit. Eloquence, 
indeed, which is something different from mere ora- 
tory, is highly valuable ; but even that is not indis- 
pensable. The most successful preachers haA''e, and 
not rarely, been destitute of any other eloquence 
than what belongs to earnest manner and pious 



SCHOOLS, IX THEIR KINDS, SORTS A\D VARIETIES. jgg 

hearts. God seems to prefer here, as in many other 
matters, " the small things ;" that the success of the 
Gospel may not seem owing to the wit of man. But 
clear, distinct articulation is so vitally important to 
a preacher of the Gospel, that an irreparable want of 
that power should debar a candidate from the office 
of the ministry. 

The design, therefore, in having reading and 
speaking taught systematically and perseveringly in 
a theological school is, by no means, as some might 
conjecture, to teach or make what is usually under- 
stood by the term — orators. These, we apprehend, 
cannot be made — they are born. Or, rather, certain 
talents and susceptibilities necessary to an orator 
must be con-natural ; and where these exist the 
orator may be developed ; or if he accidentally 
break forth, he may be pruned, trained, and in many 
ways aided by art to reach his highest eminence. 
The design is to form preachers, that they may be 
easily and distinctly heard in any house usually de- 
voted to preaching ; and that they may with ease 
accommodate their voices to the sizes of different 
rooms. 

It would seem that what is so natural to us, and 
so necessary, might be safely left to itself. But al- 
though articulate speech is one of our characteristic 
distinctions from the irrational animals, few people 
know how to talk ; very few can read ; not one 
in a million can speak ! How painful and how won- 
derful, to find so many highly educated men in the 
pulpit that cannot be understood when they speak ! 
How distressing and vexatious, when it is known that 



200 CHAPTER V. 

the best of men are pouring forth treasures from ex- 
haustless stores ; and this, when clear, articulate, 
distinct enunciation is within their reach, or was 
once, though now it may be too late. 

Perhaps the remedy of bad articulation, or the 
prevention, is so simple that it is despised. The rem- 
edy, however, must be laboriously and persever- 
ingly used ; and as this takes a good deal of time, 
theological students deem the time misspent ; some 
deem it, perhaps, a sin. Prejudice has, we know, 
arisen on this subject from the overweening conceit 
and folly of many teachers, real and pretended, 
of elocution. These, too often, talk and act as if 
the salvation of the w^orld depended on elocution ; 
a folly most persons commit who substitute a part 
for a whole in anything — morals, politics, religion, or 
learning. Indeed, the narrower their base the 
grander they propose to erect the superstructure. 
The men of one book are to be dreaded in one 
sense ; the men of one idea in another. Professed 
elocutionists frequently fall into a grand error — try- 
ing to make all men speak and read in the same 
way. For while some things are common to all es- 
sentially good reading and speaking, idiosyncracy 
varies and colors for itself. Nothing more is here 
contended for than clear, distinct articulation, and a 
voice trained to suit the size of any building. Add 
also an easy and graceful carriage of the body, and 
unimpeded, natural use of the hands. The whole 
style, manner, force, pathos, inflection, and all other 
matters, by no means to be despised however, may 
yet be safely left to every man's taste, genius and 
feeling. 



SCHOOLS, IN THEIR KINDS, SORTS AND VARIETIES. 201 

Great, indeed, would be the error, and most ridic- 
ulous in itself — any thought, care, or effort in regard 
to voice, or gesture, or accent, at the time of speak- 
ing. All things must be so mastered and practised 
in private as to become natural to us, and then voice 
aijd everything else spontaneously and instinctively 
accommodates itself to all circumstances, in the 
same way it does in singers, or as do our limbs in 
the daily and hourly actions. No one thinks of 
rules who plays an instrument of which he is master. 
No adept swims by a book. A very worthy brother 
did, indeed, so misapprehend a lesson given gratui- 
tously by a friend, that he essayed its practice in his 
next sermon, but, after laboring very conscientiously 
to inhale and exhale at the proper intervals, and to 
explode his voice at each sentence, he declared that 
the whole was too laborious, and did not seem to 
assist any. In his case, indeed, there certainly was 
additional ground of dissatisfaction ; for, alas ! he had 
unwittingly sucked in his breath, when he should 
have allowed its egress ! 

But can any folly be more preposterous than the 
expectation of benefiting men by our preaching, if 
they cannot hear us ? We may think what we 
please about this and that method of acquiring dis- 
tinct utterance, but it is a grievous sin against Christ 
our Master, if we refuse to overcome an impediment 
in our voice or strengthen a weakness. Besides, a 
teacher for a theological school need not be spe- 
cially employed. In all these schools are young 
men of extensive learning, of fine taste, of undoubted 
genius ; and not infrequently themselves born to be 



202 



CHAPTER V. 



good speakers, if not great orators. Let one or 
more, of these, whether " brothers of high or low 
degree," be chosen as teachers, and then, let " the 
brethren " honestly and gratefully, under the direc- 
tion of such, submit to an incessant drill in articula- 
tion and other exercises of the voice. Let them 
practise on all keys, from the almost inaudible whis- 
per of a profound bass to the finest altissimo of fal- 
setto tones ; in volume ; in diminuendo, crescendo, 
forte, piano. Let them learn to talk up and down a 
scale, and to speak the common chord ; to speak one 
word on the octave and another in the key note ; let 
them do all with a speaking voice that is usually 
done with a singing voice. Let them practise sus- 
taining the voice, by uttering monotonously senten- 
ces, from short to long, at every pitch. Many of 
these methods are taught in no books. Let the 
teachers elected derive all they can from books : 
their own good sense and ingenuity will invent and 
vary ad libitum and almost ad infinitum. 

Great interest may be kept up for a long while ; 
but, when the interest ceases, still let young men de- 
voted to Christ, persevere with endless iterations 
till they can read and speak articulately, and with- 
out weariness, for an hour and a half, in any kind 
of a room in which they are likely to preach. Then, 
let each go forth, strong in body and voice, as 
well as in faith and love ; and then " in a known 
voice and tongue," as God shall give him utterance, 
let him in simplicity, or in eloquence, or in mechan- 
ical skill, preach Christ. 



CHAPTER VI. 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 

Like other words or names, representing several 
ideas, the term, Common School, suggests different 
thoughts to different persons, and to the same per- 
son, at different times and places. The effect on 
the mind may sometimes be evil, and even when 
good is meant. Perhaps no class of words do more 
harm, at times, than those which are designed to 
represent good things, and yet, at the same mo- 
ment, introduce by association evil or mean things. 
The latter often substitute themselves for the for- 
mer, or lessen the effect of the good : as when we find 
a very worthy person in contact ever with the vile, 
although he may not be a companion or a friend. 
We cannot see the excellent person, without think- 
ing of the mean man : we wish, at least, the honor- 
able person had a contiguousness with what was 
like himself. 

By common, applied to schools, is sometimes 
meant the lower English branches, the elements of 
learning — common branches. In that case, the 
term primary, preparatory, elementary, is prefer- 
able ; for, these are the beginning of all learning, 



204 CHAPTER V. 

and partake of its noble and excellent character. 
There is as much honor in beginning, as in finishing. 
The summit of learning could never be reached, if 
the first steps of the ascent were not taken. We 
may not carelessly apply a word that may tend to 
destroy the impression we might and ought to have 
of the essential importance and grandeur of these 
elementary studies. 

Sometimes, by common schools, however, is 
meant, schools for the common people — from which 
is an easy declination to the poorer sort of people ; 
and then, the term is fraught with many and great 
evils. It tends at once to divide the community 
into classes. And hence, while we profess zeal for 
the welfare of society, and a wish to equalize, 
wherever possible — and it is more practicable in 
both learning and religion, than is usually thought — 
we have invented a term that creates castes where 
they had not existed, and recognizes them where 
they have existed. It is no part of an educator's 
duty to create factitious distinctions, nor to minis- 
ter to the pride of a monied or fashionable aristoc- 
racy. And yet, amidst our benevolent zeal for 
man's intellectual advantage, we indirectly create 
and acknowledge radical distinctions in society, 
such as the self-called superior classes themselves 
had hardly dared, even with power in their hands^ 
to legalize. This may seem too fine ; but less 
things than this produce quite as important results. 
The very sneer and contempt with which the word 
common school is often uttered, shows our suspi- 
cions to be well founded. 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 205 

It may be said, the schools in question are so 
called, because common to the poor and rich ! So 
is a third-rate tavern ; but the rich do not often visit 
such — the poor are allowed to have all the common- 
ness to themselves. Besides, w^hat school is not 
common to poor and rich, provided the poor could 
contrive to pay the fees of a high school ? The 
cheapest schools could not be common in any other 
sense, if money from some quarter did not sustain 
them ; and if the poor could pay the price, the low- 
est or highest school would be open. 

That the poor should be educated, and that 
money should be paid for them, we both affirm and 
will directly argue ; but our object now is to depre- 
cate fronf schools in which many poor are educated, 
names that may mark them. Such names widen 
the gulph, already nearly impassable, in certain 
quarters, between the poor and rich ; they acknowl- 
edge the visibility of that separation ; they force 
many good men to see what they wish to shut from 
sight. Charity sometimes turns all eyes upon a 
poor worshipper, by assigning him a pew in a 
corner ! although in superfine churches, she gives 
him a pew nowhere — not, perhaps, by voting him 
out, so much as by dressing him out. As some evil 
may arise from the word common, and none from 
the other w^ords often used, such as primary, ele- 
mentary, and the like, we shall use in the sequel one 
or any of these better terms. 

That elementary schools should exist, has been 
repeatedly affirmed. An important inquiry, how- 
ever, remains : — Should these schools be a matter 
10 



206 



CHAPTER VI. 



of independent and individual, or of private and as- 
sociate enterprise ? Or, on the other hand, shall 
they be sustained by geographical districts, or by 
the^whole State as a civil and State policy, and by 
taxation, direct or indirect ? 

The author inclines to the former opinion. Be- 
fore entering on a statement of reasons, he would 
prevent or remove an impression adverse to the 
calm consideration of the subject, and prejudicial to 
the just appreciation of the arguments ; and hence, 
it is distinctly said now, what will be repeated and 
enlarged directly, that provision ought to be made 
for the education of the poor ; and that legislatures 
and corporate bodies, intrusted with the collection 
and appropriation of public moneys, may, in their 
wisdom, allot portions for educational, as for all 
other purposes important to the common weal. 

1. From a careful reading and consideration of 
the foregoing chapters, among other convictions, 
there must have been left an impression on the mind, 
that the management of a school, and the applica_ 
tion of any system of education, belongs to one class 
of men, and to that class exclusively — practical 
teachers, of many years' experience. Dictation to 
such, from any quarter, but specially from the un- 
skilled, is an impertinence, at best — often an inso- 
lence ; and interference from such, if allowed or 
forced, can only distract, harass, and finally ruin. 

But in schools controlled as public schools (that is, 
legislative and similar schools) are sometimes, and 
may be constantly it comes to pass, that the inter- 
ference will be perpetually, not a benevolent and 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 207 

skillful ov^'seeing, but an officious and pragmatical 
meddling. The books — the studies — the mode of 
teaching — the discipline — the whole system — the 
very teachers themselves^ — shall all be watched, criti- 
cised, scolded, ordered, a thousand ways ! If all 
this were by persons long experienced, and pro- 
foundly versed in learning and teaching, the control 
would be endurable ; but this interference is often 
by truly ignorant persons, and almost always by 
men who know no more of teaching than they do 
of type-cutting. How often the meddlesome person 
is a second or third-rate local politician, in search of 
popularity and office, who in this way seeks to ingra- 
tiate himself with parents ! Many small gentlemen* 
elected superintendents or visiters of some sort, 
think they must do something ; and that they will 
do, whether anything is to be done or not. For 
what were they elected or appointed ? The legis- 
lature awaits their report ! The world is impatient 
to have the journal of their proceedings ! Shall 
they seem ignorant or careless ? They must, there- 
fore, find fault and amend. And of course, if we 
make a business of anything, we can find or make — 
especially, if honored and paid for it ! Hence, more 
unmitigated and atrocious twattle never was 
penned, than the profoundly pompous reports of 
nothingness, in the shape of official statements of 
school visitations ! And what paltry jealousies and 
envyings, about the distribution oi patronage ! And 
how teachers are often reproached, as if rioting on 
the spoils and plunder of the people ! Sometimes, 
too, they are called u to be paid their pittance, as 



2Q^ CHAPTER VI. 

swine are invited to a pig-trough ! Sometimes they 
are even disappointed — the trough being miracu- 
lously empty ! 

From this insolence, turmoil, and meanness, the 
best teachers escape whenever possible ; and com- 
mon education becomes commoner. Bees, it is said, 
endure not constant meddling with their hives ; but 
when they are thumped, rattled, pushed, and blown 
around, the bees fly away. Teachers imitate bees, 
and whenever they can, escape the din and strife of 
a thousand self-conceited tinkers, swarming around 
their schools. They prefer peace to war, freedom 
to slavery. For if, in addition to the watchfulness 
and rebukes of parents, who have a right to inspect 
and find fault, teachers, because of some small allot- 
ment of public money, must bear the control and 
obey the orders of a dozen or more officials, they 
lose their independence and manliness — they are 
slaves ! — and some, alas ! are contented or awed 
slaves, who hug their chains and polish the links ! 
Keen discerners see in such a debased and dejected 
spirit — they crouch and fawn like dogs ! they bring 
contempt on the profession ! Slaves were peda- 
gogues at Rome ; and our experimenters in educa- 
tion, while they go for the largest liberty for the 
people, and strive to make their education cost 
nothing — apparently, do all this at the expense of the 
teacher's manliness and freedom, and his pocket. 
Indeed, what slavery can be more complete, than to 
live in constant anxiety and fear ? to fear the parents 
and the children ? to fear the people and the legisla- 
ture ? to fear the trustees and visiters, the dema- 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



209 



gogue, the superintendent, the opposite sectaries, 
yea ! the very infidel and atheist ? to earn a miser- 
able pittance thrice over? to have the character, the 
domestic circumstances, open to impertinent scru- 
tiny ? to have the mouths counted, that corn just 
sufficient may be measured out ? and, after all, to 
be liable to an unceremonious dismissal at a mo- 
ment's M^arning ? Alas ! poor slave — he is to be 
pitied ! and yet, in a thousand cases, he deserves it. 
If he be incompetent as a teacher, the treatment is 
a just punishment for his wicked presumption — en- 
gaging in a noble and hol}^ cause, without the ability ; 
and if competent, that he should meanly sell himself, 
when the world is full of other employments. 

Under these and similar circumstances, it would 
be strange if public schools disappointed not the ex- 
pectations of their advocates ; and while the circum- 
stances continue, disappointment must continue. 
Where meanness and degradation exist in the heart, 
similar fruits will be borne. Public schools may 
occasionally be found exempt from these evils ; but 
these evils are incident to their nature ; and if an 
Argus watch with an hundred eyes, when he sleeps 
with one, his charge is in jeopardy. 

It seems unreasonable to object to the examina- 
tion of teachers by competent examiners. And yet, 
when even competent persons examine, the truth is, 
with great difficulty, elicited ; and usually injustice 
is done to the candidate by an erroneous and too 
low an estimate, or to the community by too high 
an estimate. The mischief belonging to the recom- 
mendation of books pertains to this subject, and in 



210 CHAPTER VI. 

time no more dependence is placed on a certificate 
of examination than on a newspaper advertisement. 
Any teacher has testimonials, or, if his moral char- 
acter is not impeached, he can procure them ; and, 
therefore, the people can no more, from this source, 
discriminate in the character and competency of 
men, than in the qualities of books. Both are taken 
at a venture. 

Usually, examinations, such as they are, are made 
by incompetent examiners, and that is almost of ne- 
cessity the case when examiners are not practical 
teachers. Men cannot be voted into good examin- 
ers any more than into good teachers. The sover- 
eignty of the people in the mass, or delegated to 
representatives, is efficacious enough in some things 
and to be venerated in its sphere ; but it cannot be- 
stow mental qualities, or bodily strength, as it can 
money and place. Examinations, then, by mere 
voted or elected examiners, is a foolery in itself, and 
not rarely a vile injustice to the teacher ; although 
the teacher who voluntarily subjects himself to such 
examiners deserves to be baulked in his hopes, and 
to depart with a suspicion attached to his profes- 
sional character. Men ought to be examined, as 
well as tried, by their peers. If they will acknowl- 
edge incompetency as competency, let them submit 
to an adverse decision without repining. Many an 
inexperienced, although talented, learned and wor- 
thy young man, has been stamped by the ignorant 
and conceited with a brand that months, and some- 
times years, are required to erase. The author is 
wholly averse to any college of examiners, what- 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



211 



ever be the moral, intellectual, and even practical 
character of the faculty. The beginning may be 
well ; the argument in its favor is plausible ; but the 
end must be disastrous. No set of examiners can 
judge of a young man till he is tried, and it cannot 
be knov^n a priori how he will teach — that must be 
tested by the act and effort itself. The spirit of the 
age here shows itself as in all other matters : all 
must be done by masses, by corporations, societies, 
colleges. And yet all this care to be public, and to 
give pubhcity to everything, is no guarantee against 
ignorance, incompetency, injustice, selfishness, par- 
tiality, tyranny ! These very bodies catch the spirit 
of sovereignty, and wish to make themselves feared, 
respected, courted ! and from their insolence, injus- 
tice, and oppression, there is no escape till their des- 
potism becomes general and intolerable, and revolu- 
tion dashes down their thrones to erect new ones ! 

There is no need of any college of examiners. 
A recommendation from the high schools, acade- 
mies, colleges, where a young man has been educa- 
ted, and perhaps been employed as an usher or tutor, 
is free from suspicion ; and that recommendation 
only presents him to a community or society at large 
as a person worthy of being tried as a teacher. It 
shows merely that the young man has learning suf- 
ficient, and is of good moral character ; and that 
learned men, his tutors and friends, believe he will 
make, in time, a good teacher. And what more could 
a college of examiners say, especially if they had no 
previous acquaintance with the person ? and, if they 
had, what more dare they say ? The success or 



212 CHAPTER VI. 

failure of the young man depends on experiment. 
He and his commendators are honest in all they pro- 
fess and say : the public understand this point, and 
the young man is put upon trial. It is now a plain, 
easy, honest, common sense affair ; but some, in a 
mistaken zeal, would render it complicated, expen- 
sive, unmeaning, unsatisfactory, and deceptive. The 
educational cause is in danger from its friends — its 
true friends. If they proceed they will ruin it, just 
as in some places true friends ruined the temperance 
cause. The lessons furnished by the failures of 
other excellent schemes, from the rashness or pride 
of their ultra-going advocates, should be studied and 
remembered. 

The power of example the world will bear in 
certain associations, but the power of sovereignty 
they will scorn. Attempts to become corporate and 
receive legislative sanction, will become the signal 
of the rallying and concentrating of opposition. It 
may be possible that a legislature adverse to the 
wishes of a medical faculty may, because of the 
seeming popularity of the step, grant to a college of 
teachers what they will not grant to a college of 
surgeons and physicians ; but yet it is highly im- 
probable that what in many States has been refused 
to the latter will be granted to the former ; and thus, 
in addition to failure with the legislature, will be a 
triumphant host of opponents, and not a few of 
these opponents former friends. 

Preference in the community, on a large or small 
scale, should, as a general rule, be given to such 
young men as teachers who have been employed as 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 213 

ushers and subordinate tutors in well-known schools. 
It is not necessary to institute comparisons between 
normal and other schools as to the superiority of 
teachers furnished ; but this may very safely be said 
— that no teachers can possibly surpass hundreds 
formed in independent schools. And if young men 
can learn to teach, as very many can, in connection 
with good principals of high schools or academies^ 
and under their supervision and guidance, these 
young men need no normal school. In one respect 
teachers formed in academies and other schools have 
an important advantage : they aid in teaching chil- 
dren as they are, and not children furnished for the 
experiment, and often those that are themselves 
intended for teachers ; both which, to a large extent, 
must be the case with a normal school. This re- 
mark is made because the author has seen school- 
advertisements in which the principal says his assist- 
ant is from a normal school ; as if an assistant may 
not equal and easily surpass the best that can be 
sent forth by any normal school ! We have, in this 
work, no special quarrel with the normal school sys- 
tem, but we must forestall a prejudice that will nat- 
urally, in places, arise against young men trained 
elsewhere as teachers. Many young men, as the 
author well knows, and therefore most confidently 
affirms, are young men of rare excellence, as men 
of genius, learning, piety, and skill and industry as 
teachers, who could not if they would, and would 
not if they could, learn to teach elsewhere than in 
an academy ; who would submit to no board or fac- 
ulty of examiners, legal or illegal, and who should 
10* 



214 en AFTER vi. 

receive a preference in any community as teachers. 
The affected or real scorn with which it is said some 
young men from normal schools regard other young 
teachers, is in some cases not only ungentlemanly, 
but wonderfully misplaced: a more intimate ac- 
quaintance with the essential characters and skill of 
both would make the self-sufficient blush. If this 
report be unfounded, still the improper behavior, 
under all circumstances, is so likely to occur, that 
young men from normal schools, admonished in time, 
may be careful not to afford so powerful an argu- 
ment against the system. 

The men of this age live out of doors. We wish 
all corn ground at a public mill, and bolted in one 
vast sifter ! all clothes washed in one big tub, and 
dried on a line stretched to the gaze of the world, 
to inspect the quality and cut of every nether gar- 
ment, male or female ! and all must feed at a public 
table ! Liberty and openness for all ; yet no indi- 
vidual separate Hberty for any ! Each must do 
what he does before others — eat, drink, sleep, think, 
talk, die, in company ! He that does not this is no 
republican ! If he takes not liberty in common, he 
shall not have liberty for himself! 

2. Another objectionable feature, therefore, in a 
legislative system of education is, it becomes arbi- 
trary and anti-republican. 

By those persons, who believe that the rich and 
the thriving have no rights, or should suffer a diminu- 
tion of rights ; that the individual man is ever to be 
sacrificed to the theoretic man, this may be treated 
with a sneer. If distinctions in societv arising from 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 215 

skill, industry, learning, are all factitious distinctions 
and erroneous ; if men may not honestly consult their 
tastes, and avail themselves of superior advantages, 
either accidental or sought after ; if after proper toil 
in suitable ways, it be wicked for men to dress bet- 
ter, eat better, or do or have anything better than 
others less fortunate or less industrious and careful ; 
if by equalizing be understood levelling up, if possi- 
ble, but levelling down rather than no levelling, then 
is it improper and presumptuous to have, or wish, 
any other education for our children than the com- 
mon education, and all may be forced by law or 
public opinion to have one kind of school and one 
sort of education. 

But, if the essence of liberty in a republic, be lib- 
erty to seek individual advantage and happiness in 
the use of honorable means, and not interfering un- 
necessarily and illegally with others, then if exten- 
sive and liberal education,if good manners, if choice 
of comrades and teachers are advantages, whatever 
prevents our liberty in these choices and tastes, is of 
the nature of tyranny. When we come into the so- 
cial compact, theoretically, (for civil society is the 
naturaFsociety, and constituted such by God himself,) 
we come that we may enjoy many liberties, by the 
surrender of a few, and those of small importance ; 
and we also do and must resist the formation of a 
society, or the abuse of an existing formation, by 
which a mere mechanical man may be made. 
Christian men could not allow to be formed such a 
republic as Sparta, in the days of Lycurgus, nor 
eould thev remain members of it. 



216 



CIIAriER VI. 



Majorities do compel — they can compel ; but, that 
majorities are right when they compel, is not always 
the case ; indeed, that the right is with a majority is 
never self-evident. King Majority may be a despot 
as well as any other king, and then this despot may 
be resisted ; he may be mistaken, and then should 
be instructed ; he may be a madman, and then 
should be confined and have his keepers. Majority 
has no right to avail itself of numbers to oppress 
any class. The sole logic is not in or by a ballot- 
box. Alas! the faces of the poor may, indeed, be 
ground by the unjust and lordly ones of the earth ; 
but a majority of political persons, poor and even 
houseless, yea, wanderers from other lands, (and 
some for whose absence their own countries are the 
better,) can be made to do that special kind of mill- 
ing, not, indeed, on the faces of the rich, but of in- 
dustrious persons, whose taste, and fancy, and views 
are different from their own. A state of thraldom 
under the government of mere majority may be so 
intolerable, that men may be willing to prefer exile 
or death. 

Whatever, therefore, aims at compelling us to 
educate our children as the mass may happen to 
imagine, or be represented as imagining, to be the 
best education, is of the nature of tyranny. What 
liberty is that which forces all to sit, whether they 
like or dislike the school, on one bench? to be 
classed in one form ? and be taught by one man ? 
This may, indeed, be done by law ; it may see7n a lit- 
eral carrying out of the constitution ; but it is con- 
trary to the essence and spirit of free government. 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



217 



A majority ought not to demand it ; they ought, 
when instructed, to correct the error. And all indi- 
rections to attain this power over any portion of a 
minority, small or great, are crimes and misde- 
meanors deserving severe punishment. 

" The public good," is the sole answer most 
vouchsafe to all argument and remonstrance against 
any scheme of moral, political, or literary agrarian- 
ism. Provided that a corporate body is happy as a 
whole and in the mass ; provided it have a public, 
open, visible goodness of any kind, the individuals 
may be separately wretched, poor, illiterate. Citi- 
zens are thus no more than servants and slaves to 
a body politic. But the public good is the result of 
individual good ; and the most flourishing, potent, 
happy states are composed of members separately 
prosperous, industrious, strong, healthy, intelli- 
gent. Laws and government make not the people so 
much as the people make them : man is not made 
for these things, they are made for him. If, how- 
ever, the public good be a proper plea for legislative 
schools, let us try the force of that plea in another 
and kindred direction. 

Knowledo^e without religion can never make or 
preserve a republic. Knowledge separate from re- 
ligion may even propel the ruin of a State. A com- 
munity of atheists may constitute, on earth, no in- 
significant semblance of hell ; nor would the learn- 
ing of" men and of angels" make that community a 
free and generous republic: that requires "love!** 
Give men religion and virtue, and the state is safe. 
Fill the land, therefore, with churches, and ministers 



21Q CHAPTER VI. 

of religion, and with Bibles and religious tracts, and 
more is done for the permanency of our repubtic, 
than if all were one vast common school, or a house 
of learning, with a myriad of godless teachers. 
Why not legislate in favor of religious institutions, 
and by law compel men to support these institu- 
tions, and to attend church ? 

Perish the man, and perish the State, that would 
seriously advise and attempt this union of the civil 
and ecclesiastical ; and yet it is, essentially as bad to 
compel citizens to educate in the mode the State, or 
a majority, or a mass may determine. We may as 
well meddle with a man's religion, as with the mode 
of his education. A power that controls the edu- 
cation may, in time, with an altered population, 
trained in common schools without religion, control 
the religion of the country. Possibly no such use 
of the public mind thus trained in schools to act in 
masses, is avowed ; but it would be rash to say 
it is not entertained. They that believe nothing are 
easily made to believe anything ; just as disbeliev- 
ers in angels and devils, believe often in revelations 
made to people abnormally asleep ! The extreme 
that has banished religion from schools, may meet 
the extreme that lets a religion into the government ! 
Nil desperandum Teucro duce ! 

Perhaps no evil would arise if the State became 
" a nursing father and mother " by donations of mo- 
ney to existing schools and churches, but without 
asking in return or expecting a dictation or inter- 
ference in their arrangements. But all attempt, di- 
rect or indirect, will be more or less abortive ; and 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



219 



this inevitable frustration constitutes one ground of 
hope, that the concentration of the powers of educa- 
tion and literature, will be found as impossible as the 
too great consolidation, deemed by many politicians 
essential to a federal government. The ultraism of 
extreme democracy has nearly gone around far 
enough to meet the extreme of a by-gone political 
federahsm ; but if all this be done by a mass-meet- 
ing, all is, of necessity, virtue, liberty, and equality. 
This force, whether of law, or of erroneous amd 
misdirected, or adroitly directed public opinion, is 
injurious to what are called by some the inferior 
classes, and to the poor: it begets against these a 
determined hostility. To benefit them, near and 
dear rights are invaded ; and that awakes and 
arms an opposition. Even thus rampant abolition- 
ism has riveted the chain of the slave, and freed 
none but by hypocrisy and theft. 

Sometimes it is answered, if you like not the pub- 
lic school, choose one of your own. We will do 
that, when you restore the money that you took 
away by taxes. We cannot pay two schools. We 
are compelled to support the public school ; and, 
therefore, we are forced to forego a school more to 
our taste. We had a few shillings with w^hich we 
could have got a slice of venison to our taste ; but 
you drove us to another stall and made us buy salt 
beef and pork ; and now, when we complain that 
this provision is not to our liking, you taunt, and bid 
us go then and dine on venison ! 

But, suppose we cannot get what we wish, al- 
though willing to pay twice ? The majority in 



220 



CHAPTER VI. 



many places will, for a time at least, attend the pub- 
lic school ; and that renders it next to impossible if 
not wholly so, to have an independent school, unless 
the few desirous of the school pay three or four pri- 
ces. The tyranny of a forced public opinion in- 
duces very many, who secretly detest the public 
schools, yet to send their children thither. Many 
fear being made to suffer in their business, perhaps, 
in their character — being branded with some odi- 
ous name, like that of aristocrat — held up to ridicule 
as wishing to be superior to their fellows ; and> 
therefore, these by compulsion sustain the public 
schools. 

Good independent teachers by degrees, insensibly 
disappear before the operation of a legislative school. 
They look for other employments. Many go to the 
West and South, from which they will again de- 
part, when the hurricane of experiment sweeps over 
those regions. Others are starved into compliance 
and become, in a very rigorous sense, the servants of 
the public. Meanwhile, as the academy and the high 
school die away, the boarding-school system arises 
from their ashes — ark of safety, not to the poor, 
scarcely to the middle class, but to the rich. And so 
this mighty movementof the ultra-democratic mind, 
that expected to be an iron roller to level all down 
into one republican smoothness, ends with elevating 
the rich still higher, and creating schools in which 
the great may be educated like nobles and princes. 

3. Another objection to the public school system 
is, it must lower, in most places, the standard of edu- 
cation, or at least keep it from rising. It is re- 



COMMON SCHOOI.S. 



221 



peated — primary schools must exist : but primary 
schools must not be the only schools. Two things, 
however, tend to make primary public schools fixed, 
and to prevent the existence of schools beyond 
them : — 

Public funds, whether by gift or taxation, are 
adequate to primary schools only ; and the people 
are sometimes directly and in express words, but 
oftener indirectly and by implication, taught, that 
education beyond the essential elements is, for the 
mass, needless. 

The ever-reiterated and earnestly impressed ar- 
gument in favor of public schools, is the cheapness. 
The essential branches of study are like " air, sun- 
shine, running waters ;" and they must, beside 
being as common, be made as cheap. If they were 
dear, or even at a reasonable commercial price, the 
poetry of the spouter's figures would be spoiled. 
True, this wondrous cheapness is ostensibly for the 
poor ; but men of every sort are exhorted to set the 
poor an example, and to place their children side by 
side with poor men's children, and sometimes with 
the mechanic's children — as if American artisans 
were an inferior race ! — and there all to drink in 
learning together, and for nothing ! Hence a single 
teacher is to impart the elements — not air and wa- 
ter, but the five elements of learning — to a whole 
village ! But when these elements are fairly im- 
bibed, and something beyond is needed, if not de- 
manded, more is not to be had. The elements must 
be absorbed again ; and so again and again, if the 
children go to school for five or twice five years ! 



222 CHAPTER VI. 

Better schools would require better teachers, and 
these, better prices; and then, free schools, or public 
schools free in part, would be found as dear as inde- 
pendent schools. In many places, a country district, 
or a village district, rarely advances beyond the 
five elements — reading, writing, English grammar, 
geography, and arithmetic. Young persons taught 
in public schools of the sort, are very often admitted 
into academies ; and, although from nineteen to 
twenty-one years of age, they have never studied 
beyond the above-named branches ! 

In very large and rich villages, and generally in 
cities, legislative schools, or schools not independent 
of public moneys and taxes, may, for special rea- 
sons, consist of primary, academical, and even col- 
legiate departments and courses ; but this is never 
the case in small villages and country districts. 
But wherever schools are thus constituted, if they 
do really carry out tJieir plans, they must cost mo- 
ney — as much as independent schools, although the 
money may not be paid directly by parents. Teach- 
ers, such as are connected with these public high 
schools, do not teach for nothing! They cannot be 
had for a song ! Their salaries, perhaps, excel the 
incomes they themselves received when independ- 
ent teachers. The combined or concentrated sys- 
tem of public schools cannot be cheap. Possibly 
such schools may be as good as independent ones, 
perhaps better — although this is by no means admit- 
ted — yet it is the essence of oppression, to force a 
minority, directly or indirectly, by law or an adroitly 
managed public opinion, to- educate children as 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 223 

the State pleases, or a community of any size or 
name. The State does not own the citizens ! If the 
education were in all places as it may be in some, 
an equivalent is granted for the invasion of rights, 
to all who can get the equivalent ; but as the educa- 
tion is generally, and must of necessity remain, 
gross injury is added to injustice. Many are forced 
to pay high taxes for what is next to worthless, 
and, in no few cases, pernicious. 

Not only is a grade of education beyond the five 
elements impossible in most places, but the higher 
degrees of education are disparaged. The lan- 
guages are undervalued, and all that learning be- 
longing to mental, and moral, and political philoso- 
phies — all that pertains to taste, or the belles-lettres 
in general, and not rarely even the abstract math- 
ematics. Useful learning is talked about, in opposi- 
tion to other learning ; and useful learning is, in one 
way or another, found to be what fits a boy for the 
retail store, the counting-house, and other ordinary 
modes of getting a livelihood — to wit, the five ele- 
ments ! Nay, what is beyond, is looked upon with 
suspicion, as apt to nurture pride — to make a boy 
despise his plain parents — making him unwilling to 
work — or, at best, a mysterious sort of thing, with 
an indefined power to form professional men ! Self- 
made men are deemed examples sufficient to show 
that higher schools are needless ! as if any really 
self-made 7nan ever could undervalue the learning 
that makes him ! The most of self-made men are 
insufferable, for their amazing self-conceit ! and they 
evidently need making over again ! Many, styling 



224 CHAPTER VI. 

themselves, and so called by others, self-made, affect 
beholders as a dancing-bear affected Dr. Johnson: 
the philosopher was surprised, not that the bear 
danced well, but that it danced at all! We are sur- 
prised, not that the self-made know so much and so 
well, but that they know at all ! A few, indeed, of 
this sort, are fall of all learning and wisdom ; but 
these are not the men who can despise the higher 
schools, and they must not be quoted as persons 
whose example proves the needlessness of the better 
schools. 

4. We object to the discipline of public schools, 
that is, of public schools not independent — schools 
actually controlled by trustees, and directors, ap- 
pointed by law. 

A teacher is responsible mainly to the parents. 
And parents can restrain, if they will, the violence 
of a bad or passionate master. They can also ren- 
der the cautious more watchful. Public opinion and 
self-interest are no small conservatives ; and the law 
is open to the parent or guardian, if a teacher abuse 
a boy, or be criminally severe. But very frequently 
men, not even parents themselves, and very rarely 
teachers, and ever and anon, disciples of some hum- 
drum philosopher, who is illuminated beyond the 
revelations of the Bible, prescribe the rules of disci- 
pline in public schools. They dare to direct their 
own masters! The lamb devours the wolf! We 
aver, and without terror, that some men who under- 
take to direct many teachers, need the instruction 
and discipline which those teachers impart and ad- 
minister ; and that, if such men had brains enough 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 225 

to see, they would shrink from presumhig to " enter/' 
where none but the schoolmaster " should tread !" 

The best and wisest of men, parents as well as 
teachers, admit the occasional and judicious use of 
the rod. Legal superintendents and educators for- 
bid it. Hence, what endless squabbles and rigma- 
role, or twattle, about government ! what law upon 
law, and regulation after regulation ! what mutual 
Jesuitical watching, and reporting of reporters ! 
And all can, severally, squeak better than piggy 
himself! But with due deference to all ventrilo- 
quism of this kind, no man is more competent to de- 
termine the character of disciplinary punishment, 
than the teacher. 

Power and authority supreme must reside some- 
where ; and final appeal must be final. In the gov- 
ernment of a family, God, and Nature, (the instinc- 
tive feeling of the soul,) and experience, say, this 
supremacy resides in the parent. He is the judge, 
from whom is no appeal. It may, indeed, be pre- 
tended, perhaps it is even now indirectly taught^ 
that men are made for the State, and not the State 
for men ; agrarianism or Fourierism may seek to 
abolish the family, and with it, family authority and 
right ; but on Bible and Christian principles, we 
must believe that the supremacy over children is in 
the parent. The laws do, indeed, punish abuse of 
authority ; but the laws take not away nor deny the 
authority, and never interfere, except when the pa- 
rent is deemed theoretically incapable of supreme 
government. In a state of nature, this supreme au- 



226 CHAPTER VI. 

thority extends to more than in the social state — 
whether deemed conventional or divine. 

The whole, or a great portion of this supremacy, 
the parent voluntarily delegates to the teacher ; and 
every true teacher ought to be, and is, a parent to 
his flock of intrusted children. A teacher who ad- 
mits not the reality of this relationship, lacks dis- 
cernment : one who will not and cannot feel, in 
some degree, its tenderness, is unworthy the name 
of teacher. He should betake himself to banking, 
or engineering, or any lawful means of making mo- 
ney and enjoying himself: in the school-room he is 
out of character. When the parental power is thus 
delegated, the parents only have the right of watch- 
ing and supervision ; and they may, in all cases, ap- 
peal to the law, in which the law would interfere 
with themselves. If a teacher can of choice submit 
to other watching and supervision than that of the 
parents, that teacher is a coward and a slave. 

In a healthy state of the public mind, the constant 
decisions of judges in favor of teachers, arraigned 
for alleged abuse of power, and the nominal pen- 
alties awarded where seeming injury had been 
done to a child, speak the sense of law on this point. 
Thousands, too, of wise parents exclaim, " Sustain 
the teacher, right or wrong !" by which they mean 
to say, that extreme caution, forbearance, tender- 
ness, and allowance must be exercised and used 
towards teachers, even when in error ; that some 
wrong is rather to be endured, than that an author- 
ity like the parental should be endangered, if not 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 227 

subverted. It is felt that the fewer the appeals 
from the teacher, the better. 

The government of the teacher is commonly su- 
perior to that of the parent. But where unusual 
severity is used, the public can never judge fairly. 
No man can collect and concentrate the countless 
acts of disobedience, running through weeks or 
months, and present the whole as a condensed of- 
fence, and cause the whole to appear to a court as 
it appeared to the teacher — all aggravated by a 
hundred cautions despised, by rebukes disregarded, 
by threatenings laughed at, till open rebellion and 
direct insolence had to be crushed by a severe cas- 
tigation. Who can paint the look — the gesture — 
the tone — the thousand nameless and indescribable 
things that are connected with the boy's manner, 
and which add to his other offences, and of them- 
selves merit a sound whipping ? Stripped of these 
circumstances and aggravations, the final and fin- 
ishing act of disobedience which called for the 
chastisement, appears, to the superficial view, a ve- 
nial offence ! and the man who severely chastised 
for that offence, a monster of cruelty and revenge ! 
Often it is said, let the parent scourge the boy. 
But what if there be no parent able to do it ? Few 
women or mothers can properly whip a large boy. 
Or what if the parent will not do his duty ? Is the 
boy to be turned out of the school into society, 
triumphant in wickedness and rebellion ? Is this the 
wisdom of the popular lecturer, ever blating about 
the vices of society, and the ounce of prevention 
better than the pound of cure ? Dare these bab- 



228 CHAPTER VI. 

biers sneer at prisons and scaffolds — marks of a 
barbarous age ! Shall they pretend to set up for 
lights ! 

Some silly people have said, '' We had rather our 
children should die, than be whipped." This insane 
wish shall be gratified ; but the teacher will not be- 
come the executioner. Let the hangman do his 
office when the time comes : the teacher will try to 
prevent that catastrophe. If tears flow not now, 
blood will hereafter. They who, on every slight 
provocation and pretext, are planting knives in each 
other's bosoms, and shooting down their comrades 
in the streets of the cities, are not the persons who 
were properly disciplined at school. The sons of 
the pilgrims may deem themselves wiser than their 
fathers ; but the alarming degeneracy of morals 
speaks little in favor of undisciplined children. The 
wholesome rod of a stern morality prevents the jail 
and the gibbet : he that banishes the rod, builds the 
prisoner's cell, and holds out a rope to the hang- 
man. 

5. A fatal objection to most public schools not in- 
dependent of State patronage, is on the score of re- 
ligion. 

The writer agrees with those who deem it uncon- 
stitutional and impolitic to provide, by law, for re- 
ligious observances in public schools. No legislat ion 
on this point can be definite, that shall not prefer one 
sect or party to another. The only thing law can 
do, is to let schools alone, and not to forbid religious 
observances. But if, under pretext of impartiality, 
all forms and observances of religion are forbidden, 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



229 



partiality is yet not avoided ; because some sects of 
religionists, and all sects of irreligionists, believe 
that religion should be proscribed in schools ; and 
such, therefore, are specially favored and their cause 
promoted by this very prohibition. Hence religious 
men are taxed for the advantage of heresy and irre- 
Hgion. They are made to support systems adverse 
even to civil liberty. 

Whether the Bible should be read as a class book 
in schools, the author does not conceive to be a point 
of vital importance. Many good and wise men, cor- 
dial lovers of the Bible, who have unhmited control 
over their schools, do not use the Bible as a mere 
class or reading book. Some important objections 
may be urged against that use of the Bible. As a 
mere reading book, it has no great advantage either 
intellectually or morally. The book may even be 
desecrated by this use. It cannot operate as a 
charm. The use of the Bible in schools is not "as 
a classic," but for nobler purposes — even religious 
and devotional. It should be a part of the worship, 
in the school as in the family. The master himself 
should read it, as the father of his flock ; or if the 
pupils read, they should read soberly and devoutly. 
The reading should never be as a task or an exer- 
cise. The Bible has a grander use than as a school- 
book. Children may, indeed, store their memory 
with passages of the Bible, but always as a part of 
religion, as they learn hymns, prayers, catechisms. 

But here is the vital point : shall the religion of 
the Bible, the principles of the Bible, be acknowl- 
edged in schpola ? Shall the divine authority be 
11 



230 CHAPTER VI. 

brought to bear directly, and in all their studies and 
conduct, universally upon the pupils? If by legisla- 
tive enactment, or the force of public opinion, a 
master may not, if he wished, and does not, because 
he is irreligious, when he might, use the Bible as a 
part of worship ; if he for that purpose read not 
himself, nor cause his flock of pupils to read ; if he 
may not refer to its authority, and draw from it 
solemn rebuke and warning, and matter to incite 
to a wholesome emulation, his school has no religion 
worth the name. Its existence cannot be favorable 
to virtue or to the State. It may be fatal to the 
children's best interests. When a school of this sort 
breaks up, and is dispersed, that event is no evil. If, 
therefore, all State schools, where religion is pro- 
scribed, are abandoned, it would call for rejoicing 
and not lamentation. It follows not, that no schools 
w^ould exist ; but time will show, provided all reli- 
gion in public schools be forbidden or despised, and 
this system be universal, that an entire destitution 
of schools cannot be more disastrous, than schools 
in which the authority of the Bible is not acknowl- 
edged and enforced. 

The State, or a combination of political parties 
for the purpose of general education, may not be 
blame- worthy, if they order no special ^orm of reli- 
gion in schools ; yet, not a few pretending a fear of 
union between the Church and the State, wish, nay, 
are possibly endeavoring^by means of the present ris- 
ing generation, to banish religion, first, from educa- 
tion, and then, from the State. The disastrous con- 
sequences of a school system without religion can- 



COMMON SCHOOLS: OQI 

not be felt immediately. The enemy does not wish 
them to be felt. A community not yet wholly irre- 
ligious, if alarmed, would take measures to prevent 
the evils. Long is it before the influence of original 
impulse ceases. If a person be within what moves 
less and less swiftly by an equable decrease, he is 
not sensible that the motive power is withdrawn, or 
ceases to act, till there is a stop. Indeed, in case the 
man is asleep, he wqll not know he has stopped till 
he be awaked. The author has been in a car, from 
which the locomotive, in full flight, became accident- 
ally detached ; but, engaged in conversation, it was 
long before the thing was noticed : all seemed 
tending onward happily as before. In this commu- 
nity, in most places, the mass of society is under the 
propulsion of an hereditary religion, whose force was 
inherent in by-gone institutions and practices. But 
men not asleep or wilfully blind, who choose to look 
at external objects, discern plainly enough that the 
great machine of our civil society is slacking 
speed ; or if it moves rapidly, it is oft' the track ! 
Some are destined to wake up with a shock ! Others 
will find, like Horace and his comrades in the Brun- 
dusian journey, that the villainous muleteer has 
tied the mule ; and that, during the night of ease 
and security, they have advanced not a jot ! 

Is there not a visible, confessed, and sad deterio- 
ration in the morals and manners of the young? Is 
there not a woful and wide-spread disregard of pa- 
rental, and, by consequence, of all other rightful au- 
thority ? And is not resistance to authority usually 
continued, in one form or another, till an unhappy 



232 



CHAPTER VI. 



victory is obtained ? The school-book itself is ex- 
purgated, not of licentiousness, but of religion; not 
of falsehood, but of historical fact ! History, that 
tells all, may not speak in some public schools ; and 
morals rest, not on the will of God, but on utility and 
honor ! Herod and Pilate come together, shake 
hands, and embrace even nov^ ! A narrow inspec- 
tion of some public school libraries would discover 
licentiousness and infidelity ! Many will cease their 
mutual " bitings and devourings," if they can all em- 
ploy their teeth on the common foe ! 

6. The abstract principle in our polity, that the 
majority rules, is not disputed. Notwithstanding its 
many and manifest abuses, and repeated acts of tyr- 
anny, notwithstanding the adroit movements of a 
deep intrigue, by which a bare majority, from the 
dregs and scum of domestic and foreign voices, may 
be bought and drugged for dishonest purposes, we 
must hold to our country in this respect, " right or 
wrong ;" for the opposite doctrine is fraught with 
tenfold evils. But there are things of which a ma- 
jority should be ashamed ; there are things a major- 
ity should scorn to do. Among these is taxing the 
people for the education of the mass. 

Preposterous is it to say, the tax is for the advan- 
tage of the poor. The truly poor are not bene- 
fited ; and they can easily be educated without com- 
pelling all to be educated with them, and educated 
better. Equally preposterous to say, that the good 
of the State requires this taxation ; for we have 
shown that the system of education is fraught with 
evil. Besides, on this plea, the State is bound to 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 233 

support churches and the ministers of religion : in- 
deed, the support of these would benefit the com- 
munity vastly more than the support of any system 
of education. Knowledge cannot preserve the 
State ; religion can. 

A very large class of citizens, the best members 
of society, called often, for want of a more appro- 
priate term, the middle class, is specially oppressed by 
this tax. These cannot support free schools and yet 
pay independent schools, in which their children can 
obtain an education worthy the name — in which, 
too, the children can be kept in the fear of God. 
These persons have not commonly money to loan ; 
but they are forced to invest all they possess in 
property, visible and tangible, and therefore taxable. 
They cannot put their property in bank stock, or in 
stocks of any sort. The rich, however, can do all 
this, and many other things, to avoid assessment ; 
and then send away their children to the boarding- 
schools. Thousands of persons, too, have a fair 
income from their labor, who yet have no visible 
and taxable property of any kind ; and these, with- 
out a scruple or a twinge of conscience, avail them- 
selves of what are termed free schools ! How 
many are even willing to be deemed poor to avail 
themselves of other men's industry to educate their 
children ! 

It is not to be wondered at, that honest men, after 
having honorably schooled their children, should be 
indignant when compelled by a majority to educate 
their neighbors' children ; and that majority, not 
infrequently, a majority without house or lands ! 



234 CHAPTER VI. 

The effect of all this is an Asiatic despotism, which 
forces men to conceal their property, lest it should 
be legally stolen by rapacious and dishonest citizens. 
The author has been told, that in some districts, 
farmers from the country, and persons from other 
disti'icts, and even from Canada, inove into a village 
in the w^inter season, to have the benefit of a free 
school at the expense of that village ! 

Has a bare majority a right to do this ? — and es- 
pecially a majority coaxed and misled ? Is not this 
a mere trick ? Siimmum jus, summa injuria^ may 
here be translated, the majority is oftentimes grossly 
unjust ! 

These are some of our main objections to free 
schools, supported by the State, or by taxation — by 
any system, in short, that is adverse to the independ- 
ence of schools and teachers. 

Is it asked, how^, then, shall schools be supported ? 
Our answ^er is, schools will take care of themselves. 
All w^ho wish education for their children, will pro- 
vide schools for themselves. If they have the 
means, and will not pay honestly and equivalently 
for schooling, let them go w^ithout schooling. If 
any will not work, they should starve ; if any beg 
from door to door, and yet have money, they de- 
serve the punishment of swindlers. 

But what shall they do who have no money and 
cannot work ? Shall these starve ? By no means ; 
for these exists the poor-house. Let these be sup- 
ported. 

The number of persons w^holly incapable of pay- 
ing a fair price for elementary branches in education 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 235 

is less than is presumed. And all able to pay that 
price, ought to be ashamed to receive assistance. 
For what else should effort and sacrifices be made, 
if not for education ? And will not that which costs 
us something, be, for that very reason, the more 
valued ? Hundreds of people find money enough for 
trade, for houses, lands, furniture, dress, amusements, 
refreshments, luxuries, who, at the bare mention of 
a tuition fee, begin a whine about hard times ! If we 
wish to see long and melancholy faces, call for pew- 
rents, physicians' bills, or school-moneys ! Nay, 
such calls are, not rarely, resented as impertinent ; 
and the collector is often treated as if he were akin 
to a swindler ! 

Truly poor persons, however, are found ; and 
these are more or less unable to educate their chil- 
dren. Some such cannot afford to buy necessary 
school-books; others, not even decent apparel* 
These are the proper objects of charity and gen- 
erosity. How shall such poor be educated ? By 
taxation? Certainly. Let us, however, be well 
satisfied that the poor, and the poor only, are bene- 
fited by the taxes. Thousands are loud and vehe- 
ment in behalf of starving Ireland, who intend to 
speculate in breadstuffs ! And ten thousands bawl 
out for educating the poor, who intend to divert the 
money to their own children. 

But when aid is extended to the poor, is it not 

possible that their children be educated in the best 

#ndependent schools, and on an honorable equality 

with all other children ? Why should inferior 

schools exist for the poor, or an inferior grade of 



23G CHAPTER VI. 

education ? Schemes may be devised, if the people 
are really in earnest, by which all visible distinctions 
between rich and poor may disappear in schools, 
' except what may arise from dress ; and teachers 
may find it to their interest to treat all alike. Schools 
need not be levelled down to meet the wants of the 
poor ; nor need the poor be made to feel every hour 
their inferiority. A slave cannot be treated among 
freemen as a freeman ; he must be first set at 
liberty. 

Among schemes for this purpose, we venture to 
propose a very simple one ; not with entire confi- 
dence in its perfection, but as a scheme that is prac- 
ticable. It may also furnish a hint for something 
better. 

In every district or village, let a Board of Edu- 
cation be elected by the people, or appointed by the 
Legislature. This Board should be composed of 
responsible and influential persons, willing them- 
selves to educate their own children, and at their 
own expense. The members should not be oflice- 
holders, nor in any way entitled to an election to 
the Board because of political views or principles. 
No overseer of the poor should be a member. The 
expenses of the Board or its officers should be paid ; 
but no emolument or salary of any kind should per- 
tain to the Board, or any member of the Board. 

Into the treasury of this Board should be paid all 
moneys bestowed by the Legislature, or raised by 
taxation, for the education of the poor. Twice at 
least every year, a minute and accurate statement 
should be published in the newspapers of the dis- 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 237 

trict, and also, if necessary, should be otherwise 
printed and circulated for the public information, of 
appropriations and expenses, and all matters deemed 
suitable for publication. Or the books might be 
open at certain offices for any person's inspection, 
every quarter. 

The main duty of the Board would be to deter- 
mine what children, either in whole or in part, 
required aid ; and then such children, as far as the 
funds allowed, should all be sent to the existing 
schools of the district, and at the regular school pri- 
ces. The teacher would thus feel as deep a pecuni- 
ary interest in the poor as in the rich boy ; and the 
poor boy would claim the fall benefits of the 
school. 

The Board could easily know at once, from their 
intimate acquaintance with the district, who would 
be entitled to aid ; but they would be empowered, if 
necessary, to put certain legal inquiries, prepared 
under the authority of the legislature ; and thus, they 
could ascertain the truth in all cases. If, beyond the 
payment of the school bills, additional assistance 
were necessary, school-books, and in some cases 
clothes, could be furnished. In this way the poor 
children would have the best schools, the best teach- 
ers, the best books. 

Sometimes it is said, the poor will never consent 
to be educated without the rich will go with them. 
This is simply— /a/^e. But if it ever is the case, the 
remark applies only when a school system is made 
exclusively or mainly for the poor, and where all 
who go to a certain school are deemed to be poor. If 
11* 



238 CHAPTER VI. 

the school be branded with a bad name, of course the 
poor, having the same nature and generous senti- 
ments as other people, will be more or less delicate 
in going alone to that school. In the way now pro- 
posed, or any similar and better way, the poor are 
not known ; and instead of being the innocent cause 
or occasion of dragging down any unwilling persons, 
they are themselves placed for the time being on a 
par with their townsmen. 

The truly poor do not refuse aid in building a 
house, unless we consent to build in the same style ; 
nor to take a deck passage, unless others desert the 
cabin. Nor do the truly poor refuse an education 
when offered them, although the rich may refuse 
to be educated with them. . This and many other 
weak objections arise from the miserly, the hypo- 
critical, the dishonest — persons who wish to make 
charity-schools popular and fashionable, for their 
own selfish purposes. 

It may, indeed, be necessary, in certain places, to 
have primary schools at inferior prices. Yet if all 
religious sects would do as some, parochial schools 
would be connected with every important congrega- 
tion ; and the congregational poor would there be 
religiously and intellectually educated. If the State 
assisted such schools, it would be praise- worthy. 
The poor, however, not connected with religious 
bodies, could all be in some degree educated by the 
Board of Education, and, without visible distinc- 
tions, in the best schools of the village or district. 
Inducements, too, could be held out to extraordinary 
diligence or excellence, in the prospect of an educa- 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 239 

tion beyond that of the primary school. For certain 
attainments, or industry, or morals, the Board might 
carry from one to twenty, through an academical 
course, and from one to five through a college 
course. 

Of those carried through the superior courses of 
study, many would voluntarily, when able, refund to 
the Board of Education the amount advanced for 
their education ; although no obligation, written or 
implied, should be demanded or expected. The 
whole should remain a matter of conscience and 
honor. And yet, if any, with the consent, and by 
the advice of the parents, preferred borrowing and 
giving a note, payable in a given time and without 
interest, that would be admissible. 

After all, here and there might be found a district 
without any good independent school, and where 
the great majority of the inhabitants might possibly 
be unable to pay anything for primary branches. 
There let the Board of Education establish a primary 
school. Let them invite a good teacher, and pay 
him a suitable price for every scholar sent ; and 
rigorously compel any other than a poor citizen, 
according to his ability, to pay the whole or a part 
of the regular fee. But let the school itself and the 
teacher be independent. A teacher should not be 
asked to take less, simply because his pupils are sent 
by the State or the district. Teachers are, perhaps, 
as liberal and generous as other men. Many distin- 
guished men ow^e themselves to benevolent teachers; 
To concentrate and lay on the teacher the aggregate 
burden of cheap or gratuitous education in any com- 



240 CHAPTER VI. 

munity, is the quintessence of a covetous and mi- 
serly meanness. The monuments improperly raised 
to the memory of men who devised plans of educa- 
tion for the poor, and gave nothing, should oftener 
be erected in memory of the laborious teacher who 
executed the plan ! Alas ! how very many, with 
large farms, large stores, large means of every kind, 
are mean enough to din a teacher's ears with admo- 
nitions and hints that they should charge less for the 
poor ! Did it never occur to such benevolent friends 
of the poor, who wished to serve a neighbor at a 
neighbor's expense, and to obtain a reputation for 
charity never bestowed, that they themselves ought 
to make up the deficiency in the poor man's quarter 
bill? 

The Board of Education would not, indeed, have 
always a pleasant task. In civil polity, however, as 
in theology, it is equally true, *' He that would be 
chief among his brethren, must becom.e their ser- 
vant." Members of any society, civil or ecclesias- 
tical, and, particularly, prominent members, must 
bear, and willingly bear, evils. They must be stung 
by the reproaches of envy, fraud, knavery, selfish- 
ness. This Board would be bitterly opposed by the 
hypocritically poor, and the base among the rich. 
All endeavoring to obtain something for nothing, 
and yet ashamed to be seen taking it alone, and, 
therefore, striving to skulk towards the object in a 
crowd — all these, and their kinsfolk, would be chief 
maligners and misrepresenters. All demagogues in 
want of political capital, and all common-place 
spouters of educational lectures, would open their 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 241 

foul mouths. The age of rigmarole would be pass- 
ing ! The poor, dear people would have been al- 
ready accommodated ! An occupation is gone ! 

The Legislature, it has been said, may, beyond the 
moneys given to aid the education of the poor, 
donate to schools. Perhaps schools, colleges, acad- 
emies, may be required to possess certain property, 
and have a certain number of pupils, or to have 
and do anything not affecting their independency 
and integrity ; but no interference with their reli- 
gious or literary character should be attempted. 
The grant should not be accompanied with an offen- 
sive dictation. Grants also may be made to 
churches ; but such should be simple and honest 
gifts. Nothing may be asked or expected in return, 
except that the several sects should behave them- 
selves better than ever, and more earnestly strive to 
benefit the State by maintaining a burning and shin- 
ing light in the midst. The donations should, in all 
cases, be a reward, and not a bribe or a temptation. 
Let the Legislature be a father and not a lord. If the 
State cannot give moneys in this spirit, let the State 
keep its money, for internal improvements, or office- 
holders and office-seekers. 

Moneys may be given to schools in various ways. 
The common ways are to aid in erecting buildings, 
or in buying libraries and apparatus. But money, 
for certain excellencies, might, over and above the 
tuition fees, be given directly to teachers ; even as 
prize money to officers and seamen. In such cases 
the teacher ought not to be required to lessen the 
ordinary tuition fees : because, under one pretext or 



242 CHAPTER \1. 

another, teachers who are beguiled into cheapness 
by grants of money, are apt, at last, to lose the 
grant ; and then the district, being accustomed to a 
low rate of quarter-bills, will not pay a higher. 
Patriots will arise who will take away grants made 
by former legislatures ; and that, whether it ruin 
teachers and trustees or not. Teachers often find, 
that gifts from the people, in any way, are like the 
gifts of Asiatic princes — they call for a larger 
gift in return. Upon the whole, if the State will 
provide for the truly poor, and provide that none but 
the truly poor receive that aid ; if they will pay 
teachers for educating those truly poor ; and, then, 
if they will let the schools alone, from the college to 
the primary school, teachers ask no more, no less. 
If they receive a reward — well ; if they receive it 
not — better ! Teachers are not beggars, nor pen- 
sioners. All they ask is to be let alone. If the State 
will mind its business, we shall mind ours ; and in 
this way, both will be most benefited. The author has 
seen several good independent schools wholly ruined 
by State interference, and nothing but the most con- 
temptible schools established in their room. State 
or non-independent schools cannoty in a fair field, 
compete with private schools. 

The remarks, thus far, have had particular refer- 
ence to no one State in the Union. The remainder 
of this chapter relates to the academies under the 
supervision of the Regents of the University of New- 
York. 

The appropriation of moneys from the Literary 
and Deposit funds, to the academies, arose from the 



COMiMON SCHOOLS. 243 

most philanthropic feelings. Statesmen, too, of great 
learninof, and ardent and honest lovers of their coun- 
try, originated and advocated these appropriations ; 
while the Regents themselves have al^^ays, with the 
most laborious diligence and scrupulous honor, en- 
deavored to carry out the intention of the laws orig- 
inally and from time to time enacted in regard to the 
distribution of the gifts. But a fundamental error in 
the whole scheme lies in an interference with the 
plan and mode of studies whenever an academy 
wishes to partake in the liberality of the State. It is 
not, indeed, said that there is ever any direct inter- 
ference, unless the somewhat self-complacent direc- 
tions of Secretaries or other officers of the Board, 
contained in the annual or periodical pamphlet sent 
to the academies, may be deemed such ; but it is 
said, that the practical workings of a system, where 
the right to a part of the appropriation is based on 
certain branches studied, (the higher English 
branches, and certain Latin books,) the workings of 
that system, wherever regarded, is an interference, 
and an evil interference, with the proper independ- 
ence, and, therefore, excellence of the schools. 

Waive, for the present, a very important fact, that 
the whole plan and all its original laws, were framed 
when books, systems, everything in education, were 
widely different from what these all are now ; and 
suppose that all these remain in every respect as 
when the plan and the laws and directions first arose ; 
still the evil results are many. 

1. Teachers are compelled to shape the whole 
system of education so that it may comprise certain 



244 CHAPTER VI. 

studies recommended, or ordered by law ; and in 
that scheme they are induced to embrace all they 
can among the pupils, who are over a certain age. 
Occasionally the resulting system may be the sys- 
tem itself which would have been adopted of choice, 
had the master been free from any lure or tempta- 
tion in the shape of patronage and gift ; but not in- 
frequently the course enjoined or fixed, is materially 
different from his approved course, and even some- 
times opposite to that course. And when the forced 
system is accidentally right, the teacher feels joy at 
the good luck, but not gratification that the excel- 
lence resulted from his art and contrivance. No 
room, however, is left the teacher for such experi- 
ments as must be made by the best masters : the four 
months are evanishing, and the money may be lost, 
if the boy to be reported is not immediately stretched 
and fitted to the bed-stead. The boy would, in many 
cases, be more benefited by a wide departure from 
the prescribed plan ; but, although this may be the 
case, and the teacher have, by pursuing a better plan, 
much more labor, he cannot legally draw the money 
in the supposed case, unless he report hooks-, pages, 
and a nominal progress ! He hazards, at least, the 
gift or premium ; and that he can rarely aftbrd to 
lose. His rent depends on the somewhat rigorous 
adherence to the letter of his instructions. The law 
will not allow the Regents to believe the teacher, 
even on oath, unless he measure the boy's progress 
by lines and pages ! And yet it may be but a seem- 
ing progress. The pupil could have been improved 
by inferior studies ; but he had gone over, as ''in 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 245 

the common schoolsj^ certain preliminary matters — 
had learned that a big stone was as large as a lump 
of chalk — and now, being some eighteen years of 
age, he is set at studies technically superior, (for 
which, however, he is in reality altogether unpre- 
pared,) that his name may not be struck from the 
report ! 

2. While many boys are forced into advanced stu- 
dies before suitable preparation, a still larger num- 
ber is compelled to study things next to useless, or 
at least things that may with safety be omitted. 
Young men who have only a few months in the 
year to attend school, and are yet seriously deficient 
in branches of study carelessly gone over in boy- 
hood, are forced or persuaded to study, for instance, 
History — a matter which any young man, with an 
ordinary amount of common brain, can 7'ead at 
home — being thus prevented, in a manner, from 
duly attending to what are called the inferior stu- 
dies, but to him worth all the histories ever written* 
real or imaginary. And why is this ? Because his- 
tory is one of the studies denominated " higher /" 
a study which must be reported in order to obtain a 
premium ! The industry, the improvement, the ad- 
vantage, the labor, the time, are all unavailing with- 
out this legal and prescribed branch ! However 
negligent the pupil may have been in all other re- 
spects, if he have gone over some thirty or forty 
pages of any history, he helps to pay the master's 
rent or stockholders' dividends. Mere children, 
about the age of ten years, are made to study (?) 
infant physiologies — infant histories — infant chemis- 



246 



CHAPTER VI. 



try — and twenty babyish higher branches, all for 
the same purpose. Every boy, in fact, that enters 
the school, is contemplated in the light of an instru- 
ment to pay rent, or dividends ; and so he is man- 
aged W4th one eye to his own advantage and another 
to that of the teacher or the trustees. 

3. Constant iteration of elementary studies has 
been shown hurtful to the mind, and prejudicial to 
the character of schools. Evils of great magnitude 
result, also, if a boy be forced to re-study the higher 
branches after a fair drilling in them once or twice. 
A scholar already formed, a literary man, may with 
increased advantage review and re-review old 
studies ; but school-boys never improve after the 
freshness is wholly departed — novelty is an essen- 
tial ingredient in their studies. An old study must 
be dis-placed by a new one ; or the old must have 
in itself an endless variety in its praxis and applica- 
tions. But some things called studies are soon ex- 
hausted. Among these may be classed the smaller 
systems of botany, physiology, chemistry, anatomy, 
and the smaller bahyized histories. These abound 
in many academies, or in some ; and as parents are 
often slow to procure new books in these subjects, 
children, and even young men, are carried regularly 
once a year over the same thrice-beaten way ! The 
teacher is weary of all these ; his soul loathes the 
very sight of the dog-eared pages ; but these things 
are *' the higher English branches !" they are en- 
titled to the premium ! 

4. Not only has the English education been sadly 
injured, in some, if not all the reporting academies, 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 247 

but in them classical learning has been nearly de- 
stroyed. There is little accurate knowledge of the 
grammar of the dead or ancient languages ; syn- 
thetical and analytical exercises are almost un- 
known ; works like Mair's Syntax are nearly obso- 
lete ! The well-meant rewards of the State have 
innocently served as a premium to neglect, and, alas ! 
to cupidity ! In some cases the express letter and 
spirit of the Regents' directions are deliberately 
violated ; and boys are skipped from no-grammar 
into Caesar and Virgil ! In most cases the pupils 
are propelled or drawn over -the ground of gram- 
mar, a modicum of Historiae Sacrae, Viri Romse, 
First Book of Caesar, and First Book of the -^neid, 
and the demand then made for the bonus at the hand 
of the Regents — as a hackney coachman w^ould 
drive them to their homes in a smart gallop, let down 
the steps, and hold out his hand for a dollar ! Young 
men come forth from the academies yearly, with the 
merest smattering of the languages ; and when un- 
wittingly taken as tutors or assistants, they are 
found to need the rudiments of what they are ex- 
pected to teach ! Not a few leave college — some w^ith 
high honor — who cannot parse plain sentences of Latin 
and Greek, and arfe profoundly, and not rarely, boast- 
fully ignorant of everything save the college lessons ! 
5. At the time w^hen the whole scheme of colle- 
giate and academic appropriations was originated, 
systems of studies and books employed now were 
unknown. Whether the changes have any or all of 
them been for the better, it is not necessary here to 
determine ; although reading Caesar or Virgil, for 



248 CHAPTER VI. 

instance, means things very different, according as 
we use different editions ; but it is always next to 
impossible, and often wholly impossible now, to re- 
gard any more than the intention of the laws and 
directions sent down from time to time to the acad- 
emies. The canon in regard to age is plain enough ; 
although teachers of equal scrupulosity, vary in 
judging of that law : in all other matters a rigid ad- 
herence to the letter of the laws would defeat the 
intention of the legislature — no scholars could be 
reported ! Upon the minds of conscientious men, 
both teachers and trustees, the greatest doubts re- 
main ; and after honest endeavors to make modern 
changes suit the former age, trustees and teachers 
become a law unto themselves ! The book of di- 
I'ections comes to be wholly disregarded. The care 
of the legislature to guard the whole with law after 
law, has been unavailing ; the attempt to bind most 
stringently has given the largest liberty, or license ! 
In some places the book of directions is little read ; 
in others it is laughed at. 

So will it ever be — so ought it to be — when one 
class of men dictates to others how they shall think 
and act for all coming ages. So will it be, and must 
be, when mere legislators, wise and competent 
enough in their sphere, venture out of that sphere to 
give orders to teachers, poets, musicians — to any 
artists — as to the sciences and arts belonging to their 
professions. Dictation and restriction from the leg- 
islature would retard improvement in shoemaking — 
mere legislators cannot prepare suitable lasts for 
cord-wainers. Crispin will make shoes to suit the 



COMMON SCHOOLS, 249 

affe. He ouorht not to be bribed to stick to shoes 
with buckles, or boots with yellow tops. This is 
said to be a liberal age ; and must teachers, who can 
direct others, must they be forced or bribed to think 
on teaching as legislators thought fifty years ago ? 
If the State wishes to give money, let the teacher 
be allowed to do his work still his own way ; en- 
courage him to make improvements ; neither tempt 
nor bribe him to stand immoveable, chained to the 
legislature of a by-gone age ! 

Very far be it from the author to intimate that 
teachers are wrong, when they crowd all they can 
into legal studies, and keep others in the legal stu- 
dies four months, at least, every year, even if the 
boys know the whole perfectly. Some teachers 
may, indeed, be indifferent as to the workings of the 
system ; but all have a moral and legal right to 
force the parents, by means of the children, to a per- 
formance of their part of the contract. If any evil 
is done the pupils, the community itself and its rep- 
resentatives are to blame. The decree of the com- 
munity is, cheap education. The legislature is peti- 
tioned and threatened alternately, till they digest 
some scheme to diminish the amount of a fair quar- 
ter-bill. In time a plan is devised, and aid is given 
to an academy, provided less than an honest price 
is charged for the tuition, on the part of trustees and 
teacher ; in other words, the State undertakes to 
make up the deficiency, that the teacher may not 
lose. All this would be fair enough, and perhaps 
productive of no evil, if the legislature did not make 
it necessary for the teacher, or the academy, 



250 CHAPTER VI. 

to raise that part of the pay intended to be given, 
from the pupils themselves. The tuition fees are 
put as low as possible, to avoid a high direct tax ; 
and then the pupils are made into conduit pipes to 
convey indirectly the rest of the tax. Teachers 
will, and ought to be paid. It is an impertinence 
most insufferable to ask them to heat pokers for 
nothing. Neither parent nor boy has a right to com- 
plain when each is used just as the law intends ; and 
although education is not the best with the gifts thus 
bestowed, yet in many places, if the plan were sud- 
denly altered, by the withdrawment of the appro- 
priation, an academy would be instantly destroyed, 
because the diminished tuition fee, diminished for the 
sake of the donation, could not be immediately raised 
to a proper point. It is, indeed, not improbable that 
all appropriations to colleges and academies will be 
finally taken away, not, however, for reasons assigned 
in this chapter, and similar ones, but because the 
legislature wish to pet the people in another way, 
and to try their hand at a little common school edu- 
cating. At that they will fail, too, if they give the 
money and meddle with the system. Railroads, 
telegraphs, banks, and all secular things are their 
province : sacred matters, religion and education, are 
beyond their ken. 

Be the community, on a large or small scale, well 
assured, that some old things are yet as good as 
new : among these are, ex nihilo nihil Jit — no stream 
higher than its fountain — action and re-action are 
equal ; or more vulgarly — if you kill my dog, I will 
kill your cat. Teachers must be paid. Treat them 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 251 

as men should be treated, and the result is, high 
price and large work ; otherwise, low price and 
small work. But in either case, there is returned 
the money's worth. Let there be no whining com- 
plaint: the call was for cheap education — and 
cheap education came. The sovereign voice can 
have what it asks. 

A very important objection in the scheme admin- 
istered by the Regents of the Universiy, is the very 
solemn oath required, not of the trustees only, but 
of the teachers. 

The best moralists lament the multiplication of 
oaths. They deem many oaths a source of reck- 
lessness and profanity. In the teacher's oath, and 
the manner of administering it, there seems nothing 
to weaken that conclusion. Indeed, it is, with all 
the seeming care in its construction, inaccurately 
worded ; so that without the explanation of legal 
gentlemen, (and such differ in its interpretation,) a 
scrupulous man fears to take it ; and yet, such lati- 
tude is allowed in other parts, that anybody may 
take the oath, if he have only confidence in the 
trustees. 

A special hardship in the oath is, that a teacher 
swears, not to his hurt, but to his profit — he swears 
to get money! After all the explanation the author 
has heard, of the intention of the law and the inter- 
pretation said to be put on the matter by the Re- 
gents, it comes to that naked fact. A teacher, bear- 
ing witness in a court of justice, and swearing to 
facts in which he had no interest, could swear with 
less trepidation ; but here, he has to suppose the 



252 CHAPTER VI. 

facts are agreeable to the intention of the law, and 
is all the time alarmed, lest his pecuniary interest 
in these accommodated or substituted, or equivalent 
facts, may have blinded his perceptions. Some, we 
well know, do consider this whole matter a tempta- 
tion and a snare : conscientious men always feel 
alarmed and humbled, when called to take that 
oath. 

But not rarely is the oath deemed a mere form. 
Except as to the age of the pupil, teachers do not, 
they cannot swear according to the letter of the 
directions ; for books, systems, modes of education, 
all are changed. As there is no literal obedience to 
these requirements, there can be nothing but a form 
in swearing the words of the oath. If an oath is 
insisted upon, a new and very general form should 
be prepared. 

It is said advisedly that teachers, in some cases, 
and also trustees, go wholly by tradition, as to the 
meaning of the Legislature and Regents. These 
persons, when pointed to the letter of the require- 
ments, have uniformly said, if we follow literally, 
we can i-eport none ; and that, certainly, is not 
what the Legislature wish — we have followed, and 
will yet follow what seems to be the meaning. Di- 
rections given with great minuteness some half a 
century ago, are unmeaning now ; and hence every 
teacher in this sea of uncertainty, being left to his 
own latitude and longitude, contrives to thrust into 
his report as many as possible, and as unconcern- 
edly as if no restriction were intended, or oath on 
the matter were to be taken ! Besides, trustees and 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



253 



teachers do not believe the moneys belong to the 
Regents : they see no necessity for so much com- 
plication ; and provided they know enough of the 
pamphlets to ke^p the form, they care little for the 
substance. 

The author knows that several most excellent and 
worthy gentlemen, both trustees and teachers, con- 
nected with more than one academy, labor under 
much distress and anxiety as to the oaths ; and for 
himself he can honestly say, that more nights than 
one have been devoted by him to something besides 
gentle and balmy slumbers, in coming to a deter- 
mination v/hat pupils to report, and how to take that 
formidable oath. He has been several times on 
the very verge of resigning his station in an acad- 
emy reporting to the Regents ; and he is yet not 
wholly free from disquietude. The compensation 
is a small remuneration for the suffering endured. 
He has consulted legal gentlemen, who, however, 
have given different and almost opposite opinions; 
while some treat the anxiety as an unnecessary 
scrupulosity. And yet, it is alarming to think that 
one may be so near perjury — and for money ! 

Strange, that gifts should be so offered, that when 
you hold out the hand to receive them, you at the 
moment must bow your neck to a yoke as galling 
as a slave's or criminal's ! Why not swear to the 
truth of every quarter-bill presented to a parent ? 
If we swear to obtain one part of our price, why 
not the other ? *' How near to a prison," says Ci- 
cero, " is one who judges himself fit to be watched !" 
— and how near are we deemed to falsehood, if we 
12 



254 



CHAPTER Vr. 



cannot be believed but on oath ? 11" teachers carmoi 
be trusted without a nriost solemn oath, in matters sc 
plain and of daily occurrence, of what value is their 
swearing? It is hard enough to judge of the inten- 
tion of the law-maker, and to earn the money, with- 
out endangering one's soul by a possible perjury — 
and to be bribed to it ! 

Honorable and patriotic men fram-ed the teacher s 
oath. But these gentlemen were used to oaths in 
CGUii:s of justice, in the halls of legislation, in cus- 
tom-houses — in short, everywhere ; and it was, 
therefore, natural and easy that they should require 
an oath in attestation of school-reports. The State, 
indeed, gives away and intrusts nothing, without 
requiring an oath ; and so religion and education 
n>ust be sworn. An apostle could hardly obtain a 
book or parchment from a representative body, un- 
less he should sXvear to return it, and, perhaps, give 
additional security. And yet, while the numerous 
oaths may do well enough to " end strife," they are 
too often found unavailing to secure the State from 
incessant frauds. If we may judge of the efficacy 
of oaths, from the solemnity with w^hich they are 
usually taken and administered, we should have 
little confidence in them — they seem to be regarded 
as a mere form. 

The teacher who obeys the spirit or letter of the 
Regents' Instructions, and particularly he that keeps, 
in addition, the Meteorological Journal, and draws, 
in consequence, some one or two hundred dollars, 
has more, far more than earned his wages, even 
by honest labor, without being forced to swear to 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 255 

the fact. Were tuition fees at the just point, and 
the State would not assist the community to keep 
the fees below that point, most teachers would 
gladly exchange the slavery and humility of the 
present mode, for the freedom of the other. 

A deep conviction is seated in the author's mind, 
that however well-meant endowments and grants, 
and however high-minded the noble men who may 
have moved for these gifts — that these things do 
finally, and from many causes, differing however in 
different places, work evil and not good ; and 
mainly because the endowments or gifts do usually 
or at least frequently, lead the people to depend 
unduly upon that aid ; because, from various causes, 
the gifts are bestowed with more or less of inter- 
ference with the independency of the school, the 
teacher, the system, the books ; and because not 
infrequently, an absolute right is claimed and exer- 
cised over the teacher, as an hireling and a slave. 

Objection to existing plans may render it obliga- 
tory on the objector to furnish better ; although it 
does not necessarily follow that a person incompe- 
tent to provide a substitute, is not able to see the 
faults and appreciate the evils of existing systems. 
Perhaps, it may be fair enough to ask the objector 
for his remedy, if he have one, both for the sake of 
adopting that remedy, if a good one, and also be- 
cause the objector should be willing to be himself 
severely criticised, who severely criticises others. 
The present objector is, however, not moved by 
any improper spirit in his remarks ; and is willing 
to propose a plan, not wholly free from objection, and 



256 



CHAPTER VI. 



yet better, in his opinion, than the existing one ; or 
which, at least in the hands of more competent men^ 
may be made better. 

One main intention of the law in the present case, 
is to remunerate the teacher, w^ho, in consequence 
of the gift, asks less tuition fees from the parents ; 
and also, to reward and encourage him for his exer- 
tions in behalf of education. It is, therefore, most 
expressly and unequivocally stated, and in several 
places, in the instructions furnished by the Regents 
to the academies, that the moneys appropriated by 
the legislature shall be paid to the teachers. This 
end will be gained at once, if for every pupil over 
twelve years, who shall have studied one entire 
quarter, calendar or academical, and in any branch 
of learning, primary, superior, english, mathemat- 
ical, or classical, a given, or -pro re nata, portion of 
the moneys shall be allowed ; the time of continu- 
ance in the academy, and the age of the pupil, being 
the only limitations. 

By commencing wdth twelve instead of ten years, 
the numbers reported would be diminished ; while 
by limiting in time to three months instead of four, 
many, and the very best scholars in the school, 
would be secured to the master ; while scholars do 
now frequently go away at the end of a first quar- 
ter, and cannot conscientiously be put into the re- 
port and claimed. The combined action — increas- 
ing the age and diminishing the period of studying 
— would make the number reported about the same, 
or perhaps rather less than at present. But as a 
pro re nata allotment would be made, a less number 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 257 

reported would raise the amount paid by the Re- 
gents on each pupil claimed. 

Let also a teacher who keeps the Meteorological 
Journal be paid for that very troublesome duty. It is 
unequal to pay all alike, when their duties and labors 
are so unlike. A few cents per head might be 
allowed those academies that keep the Journal, over 
and above the portion of the other academies. 

Let, moreover, no academy be required to have 
a library or apparatus. Let that be rigorously re- 
quired of the colleges, but not of the academies. 
The academies do not need these things. The true 
academical course of education dispenses with a 
library and apparatus. JYever, in some academies, is a 
book taken from the library ; and only once or twice 
in a year, is there use for any part of an apparatus. 
Few academies — unless independent ones, where a 
liberal tuition fee is paid — can afford to employ a 
professor, competent to lecture and exhibit experi- 
ments ; and for ordinary teachers to try experiments 
is always ridiculous, and not rarely dangerous. 
Fun and foolery accompany the experiments of an 
unskillful philosopher. In many academies, there- 
fore, the few articles of apparatus, costing origi- 
nally some one hundred and fifty dollars (I), is 
rusted into fixidity and wholly out of repair, and 
would require an outlay of thirty or forty dollars 
to prepare it for producing air or w^ater! And 
what an idea of chemistry and natural philosophy ! 
to be fully and fairly taught wuth an apparatus worth 
only one hundred and fifty dollars ! The apparatus is, 
therefore, used just as such an one should be used — 



258 CHAPTER VI. 

to make up the yearly report ! And yet, it requires 
a considerable strain on the swearing organ of some 
presidents, to hoist that dead weight into the trus- 
tees' report. Far from me to impute any intended 
fraud : it is, doubtless, presumed in all such cases, 
where an apparatus is useless or not used, that it 
would be regarded favorably by the legislature or 
the Regents, and that the latitude of interpretation 
is allowable. Indeed, the " present value" is always 
sworn to, of both books and apparatus ; but it is no- 
where defined what is meant by that value. The 
intrinsic value, as far as use is concerned, is often 
exactly — nothing ! But the present value is ever 
interpreted to signify what the articles or books 
cost at the time when they were purchased, pro- 
vided their form remains, and however soiled or 
worn. Nor does it matter whether ten times the 
amount both in number and quality, can now be got 
for the sum given for things reported, perhaps dur- 
ing twenty years ! It is taken for granted that the 
whole is a mere form. It is, indeed, a hardship in 
almost all cases to require a board of trustees to 
have, over and above their academy lot and build- 
ing, books and apparatus. If a very strict interpre- 
tation were insisted on, either most academies would 
cease reporting, or find it as cheap to pay a salary, 
as to keep books and apparatus in order sufficient 
to draw the small sums which many of them obtain. 
Whether the plan just hinted, or some similar 
plan, ever be adopted, in place of the complicated 
one in the Regents' directions, cannot be said ; but 
it is virtually acted upon, in all probability, by the 



COMMON SCHOOLS 259 

•academies. All pupils over ten years are, in some 
way or other, worked into classical or high english 
studies ; and not more would be put into a report on 
the new method, than the existing method. Perhaps, 
if a difference happened, less would be reported than 
at present ; and certainly as much to the honor of 
the academies, and the advantage of the State. 

Nor should any oaths be taken by either trustee 
or teacher. Men at the head of literary institutions, 
whether theoretically as trustees, or actually as 
principals, may surely be credited on their bare 
word, especially in regard to two very simple facts 
— the age of a boy, and the period of time he may 
have spent in an academy. In short, all the ends 
intended by the legislature in appropriating moneys 
to academies, would be answered by the new plan, 
and the teacher saved from a great and needless 
labor, and from some things at w^ar with his con- 
science, dignity, and honor. 



CHAPTER VII 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 

From what has been said respecting the character 
of the teacher, and the true ends of education, it must 
be manifest, that, in addition to mental culture and 
furniture, and other qualifications, a teacher should be, 
not merely a moral man, but a sincerely religious 
man. When possible, teachers should be ministers 
of the Gospel ; not, indeed, ministers who cannot 
preach ; not persons, vs^ho, from infirmity, or disap- 
pointment, or caprice, or a mistaken and mischievous 
expectation of a more quiet sphere, or any cause 
other than love of the duty, take up teaching as a 
secondary matter. 

This is, unhappily, too often the case. Alas ! min- 
isters of the Gospel, even as laymen, frequently teach 
because they can do nothing else. Lords beyond the 
water, it is said, provide for younger sons by making 
them parsons : inefficient parsons, in this land, provide 
for themselves, now and then, by teaching. If right 
views of education are possessed, it will be seen that 
ministers of the best talents, men able to preach and 
to command both salaries and hearers, but who decide 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. ^Qi 

that teaching is either the whole or a part of their 
duty to God and man, to the Church and the State, 
are the proper persons to become teachers. And 
such ministers should undertake the office of a 
teacher as conscientiously, as solemnly, and with as 
true a sense of responsibility, as others take on them 
the pastoral relation. 

Ministers may, sometimes, unite teaching with a 
pastoral charge. At other times they may separate 
teaching, and preach as they have opportunity, 
either to regularly organized congregations, or as 
missionaries in their neighborhoods. 

Next to a congregation in importance is a school. 
A minister specially apt to teach a school, may do 
wrong if he prefer not a school. Cases exist, they 
can easily be supposed, where a school is, for a sea- 
son, more important than a congregation. 

The author is aware that he is advancing senti- 
ments at variance with the common opinion, nay, in 
direct opposition to doctrines fulminated like a phi- 
lippic by some late-learned brethren, against clergy- 
men who teach schools, as though such ministers 
had become secularized. True, these " lords over 
God's heritage" do, now and then, condescend to sit 
in the high places of education, whatever they may 
say and think of smaller folk, who are found plodding 
a wearisome way in the low places. Whether this 
contrariety between conduct and sentiment, arises 
from a change in sentiment for the better, or from 
love of eminence and power, we cannot always de- 
cide ; but wherein a minister that teaches, becomes 
secular, in any invidious sense of that term, we dis- 
12* 



262 



CHAPTER VII. 



cern not. When a minister of the Gospel has chil- 
dren and young persons under a species of parental 
and pastoral charge, is he secular, because, in ad- 
dition to clerical or spiritual care over them, he 
teaches them literature and science ? 

Moreover, in teaching the sciences or the classics 
— especially the latter — innumerable opportunities 
offer, of giving the very best religious instruction. 
He is fit neither for a minister nor a teacher, who 
cannot make lessons often as solemn as a sermon. 
The number may be small thus preached to, but 
they may be again and again more deeply im- 
pressed, than if they were in a pev^r, and not on a 
bench. Among the hundreds addressed in a church 
on the Sabbath, sometimes but one or two are bene- 
fitted ; that number is frequently benefitted in a 
small class. The Gospel may be preached by the 
road-side to a single traveller : why not in a school- 
room to fifty or sixty scholars ? It may be preached 
without a text, and without a manuscript. Is every 
other method of conveying divine truth to the minds 
of men, a secularizing affair, save that of a sermon 
delivered in a church on the Sabbath-day ? The 
teacher is always with his flock. He may fail in 
seizing the occasions opportunity offers ; but he 
may do the good if his soul is in his business. 
As to the love of mone}^ sometimes too uncharita- 
bly attributed to ministers who teach a school, 
the salaries of the teachers are often less than the 
salaries of the men who rebuke. Few teachers ever 
make much money ; and they have no kind con- 
gregation to sympathize in their sorrows, or to 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 263 

make occasional exertions for orphan children or 
widowed wives, when death removes the fathers. 
Bat what money is got, teaciiers fairly earn : 
whether they love it, of necessity, more than a min- 
ister his salary, man, who reads not the heart, neither 
may nor can judge. A melancholy day will it be 
for education, if ministers of the Gospel all withdraw 
from participation in its practical duties. In moral 
matters, ministers are essential. The temperance 
cause has been put in jeopardy in most places, and 
wholly ruined in others, by the justifiable withdraw- 
ment or forcible expulsion of the clergy from its 
management and advocacy. The cause of educa- 
tion is already in jeopardy in certain quarters, for 
want of ministerial co-operation : its ruin is certain 
whenever the sentiment becomes universal, that 
clergymen are acting an inconsistent part by be- 
coming actually teachers. 

Among the reasons why clergymen should be 
teachers, are the following : — 

1. For obvious causes these persons are more 
likely than other men to become professional and 
permanent teachers. Teaching is analogous to their 
main duty, and it is easily associated with that duty. 
Other men may easily and without inconvenience or 
scandal^ from time to time, leave the office of teach- 
ing : law, medicine, merchandise, farming — every- 
thing, in short, may be exchanged by laymen for 
teaching, whenever teaching becomes irksome or of 
little profit. Not so with the clergy. These are sup- 
posed to take the office of teaching, from motives sim- 
ilar to those with which they take the pastoral office : 



2g4 CHAPTER VII. 

regard for the moral and spiritual interests of men. 
But if clergymen become weary or discouraged » 
whither can they go, except to the pulpit ? Without 
the most urgent and manifest reasons, they may not 
betake themselves to mere secular pursuits. The 
world will not, at present, tolerate that exchange ; it 
expects ministers to depart no farther from the pulpit, 
than the school-room. Hence the double security that 
ministerial teachers will be professional and not ama- 
teur teachers ; and hence the vast superiority of the 
former over the latter. The business of education de- 
mands the life, the soul : ministers are, of choice and 
necessity, more bound than other men to devote the 
life to the cause. 

2. Generally speaking, and specially in this coun- 
try, clergymen are more extensively learned. In 
mathematics and languages they are commonly well 
taught, and eminently well in all that pertains to 
logic, metaphysics, and general literature. They 
may, indeed, be excelled in this and that special 
branch, by a professed mathematician, or linguist, 
or critic ; or by other professional men, physicians 
and lawyers, they may be surpassed in certain parts 
of logic and physiology ; but taking into account the 
great variety of topics not specially pertaining to 
any one art or profession, clergymen are more 
extensively learned than other persons. They 
havcj in short, more of the mental furniture neces- 
sary to form a professional teacher than the other 
classes of learned persons. A master requires 
far more than is apparent to superficial thinkers 
even to teach common and plain things properly — 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 265 

such as Geography, History, and most particularly, 
Grammar; but to teach higher matters profitably, 
he must be deep, if not absolutely profound. He is 
not competent to instruct in any branch, who knows 
little or nothing beyond the text book. When pa- 
rents suspect or discover that a stream is noisy and 
shallow, the influence of the teacher is gone. Many 
a teacher's depth is fathomed with a line an inch or 
two longer than the one let down by the inquiring. 
The inquirer may tremble as did Don Quixote and 
his esquire, while hanging all night in the dark to 
the sides of a dreadful clifl?* — one foot from the bot- 
tom ! — but a ray of additional light would discover 
how little was critical in the situation. 

3. If a clergyman assume the office of a teacher, 
particularly if it be thought that it was assumed 
voluntarily and from a sense of duty, greater dig- 
nity attaches to the office, and, by consequence, 
greater influence. Judgment is formed among men 
of the character and nature of an employment or 
profession, very commonly, from the character and 
standing of persons who choose it. And judgment 
once formed in this way, is satisfied ; and after- 
wards, our best and dearest interests are at once 
committed to these men, without further inquiry or 
solicitude about the machinery of their art, trade, 
or profession. Hence the world is deeply impressed 
with the importance of education and the value of 
schools, when they see men of the rank, dignity, 
learning, and morality of clergymen, voluntarily en- 
gaging as teachers, and seeming to regard educa- 
tion as important enough to turn them aside from 



266 



CH AFTER VII. 



their more direct duty. " Great reverence is due to 
boys," is a good maxim; and w^hen reverend men 
set the example^in devoting themselves to the train- 
ing of boys, the world learns to reverence schools. 
If wc would elevate schools or preserve them at a 
proper elevation, elevate the teachers and keep 
them elevated. 

4. Clergymen, from education and habit, are best 
fitted to teach morality and religion. Children, too 
regard with greater attention and respect teachers 
of religion, reverenced in that office by men them- 
selves. Laymen may, they often do, give religious 
instruction to their pupils ; but, generally speaking, 
laymen are not so much disposed as clergymen, nor, 
when they attempt it, can they do this duty as well. 

If, indeed, religion is to be expelled from schools* 
or not admitted, then may clergymen stand aloof 
from the whole business of education. They have 
no more to do with schools than with that necessary 
abortion, the Girard College. Lay-teachers, who 
make no pretensions to more piety than their neigh- 
bors, and who have, perhaps, as much contempt or 
indifference towards the Christian religion as their 
patrons, may then serve. But if religion is to be in- 
corporated with the whole machinery and discipline 
of schools, then are clergymen better adapted to that 
end than other men. 

That the teachers in an academy, or college, or 
wherever several are required, should all be minis- 
ters of the Gospel, is not necessary. The grand ad- 
vantages are gained if the principal or president be 
a clergyman. And wh ere bvit a single teacher is re- 



PERSONS MOST SUfTABLE FOR TEACFIERS. 



267 



quired, the best teacher there would be a clerical 
one, wholly and for life devoted to his profession as 
a teacher. No alarm need be felt by other teach- 
ers from such a declaration : because not the slight- 
est ground exists for supposing that all clergymen 
will become teachers, or that all teachers will become 
clergymen. We only state that if a consequence? 
never likely to happen, did happen, or were sup- 
posed to happen, it would not be a disastrous conse- 
quence. It is, however, a consequence that may be 
approximated ; for, if our views are true, or par- 
tially true, then may young men who seek the holy 
office of the ministry, regard in their training that cog- 
nate office, school-teaching. Some men are educated 
in theological institutions for special objects in 
view of foreign fields ; and among such objects is 
teaching heathen children, not merely religion, but 
arts and sciences. And is there no important rea- 
son manifest why divinity students may design to 
become, in whole or in part, teachers of schools at 
home? 

A class of schools is now advocated — a class that 
ought and must, and for many important reasons, 
become numerous — parochial schools. The religious 
people of the country will have religion in schools. 
Destroy the common schools by prohibiting the 
Christian religion there ; and the religious denomi- 
nations will before long give us better schools. 
True, they may be robbed by indirect taxation to 
sustain infidel schools, or anti-protestant schools ; 
but they will not be robbed at the same time of their 
own children, or have them, in other words, trained 



20Q CHAPTER Vll. 

for the State only. In case, then, a parochial school 
is established, there the school is brought under the 
minister's direction, discipline and influence ; it may, 
often, be wholly or partially under his actual and 
daily instruction, and that in learning as well as 
morals. Perhaps among a weak people a minister 
can be supported only in his two-fold office, as 
teacher and pastor. Perhaps, here we may behold 
a collegiate charge — the one minister devoted 
mainly to the preaching and visiting, the other to 
the school, and occasional clerical duties in the 
church and congregation. Wherever ages place 
two ministers in the relation of father and son, this 
species of collegiate charge may be delightful, and 
productive of all the advantages of a collegiate 
charge, and few or none of its disadvantages. Pa- 
rents and children would thus be one flock, and all 
be led and trained from childhood to old age. To 
the author many beauties in this plan are discerni- 
ble. And children could thus be retained under pa- 
rental influence till a good elementary education 
was secured. 

The vulgar canting cry of *' union between 
Church and State," is not unheard by the writer — 
but it is simply unheeded. If the union did take 
place, and must be an alternative, better by far than 
that horrible union — the union of infidelity, or of 
no-religion and State ! The worst form of the Prot- 
estant religion is infinitely preferable to any form or 
phase of Atheism, Deism, Nothingism — yea, Indif- 
ferentism 1 Any form of Protestantism is superior 
to the best form of Romanism ; but the verv worst 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 269 

form of Romanism is better than no religion. Of 
two evils we prefer the least. Romanism devours 
only professed foes ; Atheism, scorpion-like, after de- 
stroying its foes, destroys its friends, and then itself! 
Romanism is purgatory ; A theism is hell. From one 
is a chance of a resurrection — in the other is eter- 
nal death. Possibly the evils of superstition may, 
sometimes, balance the evils of Atheism ; but wher- 
ever the sign of the cross is found, there may 
we, peradventure, find Him that died upon the cross. 
Could Rome, in 'power, be tolerant — could Rome 
allow men to be evangelical in the midst of her forms 
and follies — contenting herself with argument and 
entreaty, and not arming with fire and sword — a 
State might, in a degree, flourish, and some happiness 
be secured for all. But Atheism has no vital princi- 
ple. Its breath is pestilence — its life, death ! its 
existence, damnation ! To this tends any school 
system, which, of choice or necessity, admits no re- 
ligion. Counteracting elements may be in a half- 
christianized community ; but these elements are 
hourly becoming weaker and weaker, and in no long 
period will have changed into an atmosphere of pol- 
lution, pestilence, and destruction. 

But the writer, who has had favorable opportuni- 
ties for observing, well knows that schools, not pro- 
fessedly sectarian, and in which pupils from all or 
many other denominations are congregated, make 
no attempts to bias the minds of the pupils to any 
special creed, religious or political. If, however, a 
school is professedly a denominational school, and is 
so published to the world, it has a right not only to 



270 CHAPTER VII. 

teach religion, but what is termed sectarianism. 
Nay, further, the author deems sectarian schools in- 
trinsically right, although they are usually very im- 
politic ; and whoever sends to such has no right to 
complain that his child is instructed in rites, cere- 
monies, and certain orthodoxies or heterodoxies, as 
the case may be. On the other hand, he should be 
surprised if all this is not done. A pledge, indeed, 
may be given or implied on the part of an institu- 
tion known to be sectarian or denominational, that 
pupils from other sects or denominations will not be 
biased either directly or indirectly towards the creed 
of the institution. If that pledge is disregarded, and 
any systematic endeavors are made to bias the pupils, 
there is fraud — nay, something deserving a harsher 
name. That school should be destroyed. It can- 
not be a truly religious school, that employs fraud, 
whether pious or impious — its religion, like itself, is 
a lie. 

From the preceding chapters it is moreover man- 
ifest, that the prosperity of the educational cause 
depends very much upon the parents and guardians 
of children. 

Many things severe, but not bitter, in this work, 
have been said relative to parents and guardians — 
not in a spirit of anger, but of faithfulness. The re- 
buke of a friend is better than the kiss of an enemy. 
The great and holy cause of education depends so 
essentially on correct views in the community; and 
errors and mistakes are so numerous, and among 
the best of men ; and so false a spirit in many places 
prevails, that a heart, in proportion to its benevolence 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 211 

and earnestness, is prone to employ pungent words. 
Indeed, a dull or insensate state of the public mind 
calls for ardent and penetrating language ; and the 
" proud flesh" of a corrupt community requires the 
caustic. The author may not be deemed an enemy 
because he tells the truth. Great injustice, however, 
w^ill be done the author, if his remarks in this, or the 
foregoing chapters, are applied universally ; and if, 
in many districts and sections of the States and the 
country, they are applied even generally. That 
they will not be applied generally in some places, he 
knows from his own personal acquaintance. And 
yet, it is believed, the application should be made far 
more extensively everywhere, than is commonly 
supposed. Without scrupulously weighing and meas- 
urini^ his words, the author beo^s leave without 
offence to add a few other general observations, rel- 
ative to parents and guardians. 

It is important that these have adequate concep- 
tion of the nature and importance of education. 
These two things are not always united in the same 
mind. Some, honest in their belief of the paramount 
importance of education, have yet no true views of 
its nature. Of consequence they are liable to many 
and serious mistakes in their attempt to educate their 
children — mistakes, almost as pernicious to the cause 
of education, to the comfort and peace of the teacher, 
as when children are sent to school, merely that 
they may be kept out of the street ! 

Where no regard for the importance of education 
is found, there is, of necessity, utter indifference to 
its character or nature. Then a school has little 



272 CHAPTER VII. 

use beyond its being a place in which children are 
kept out of harm's way. It is a sort of nursery, or 
an honorable prison house. The master is a species 
of dry nurse — a pedagogue — a keeper-in of boys — 
a half-jailor ! If parents happen to be covetous or 
inclining to mediocrity of life, they look around for 
the cheapest school — a school where the restraint, 
and watching, can be had for the least money — and 
anybody seems competent to keep a jail-school. If 
they are fashionable people, or careful observers of 
•' what the world says," then they look out for a 
fashionable school and a popular master ; and if they 
are aristocratic in style, sentiment, and pretension, 
then they seek a very expensive and select school. 

But, in all this, is no real regard or respect for the 
teacher, as a teacher. Other things in connection 
with him may beget respect, such as general char- 
acter, personal appearance, mental qualities ; but his 
preceptorial character is never considered. He is 
valued, not because of his profession, but in spite of 
it : without the accidents, he might be despised. As 
it is, the parents now meant deem it a condescension 
often, when they hire his services ; they never look 
towards him with reverence and respect — they only 
-patronize him ! And these parents, unless restrained 
by good breeding, or by conventional customs, 
will so speak at home and in company, as to betray 
their real estimation of schools and schoolmasters. 
From this, children and young persons imbibe the 
thoughts and sentiments of the superiors, and soon 
show, by words and actions, and other signs not to 
be mistaken, what is said in the domestic circle and 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 273 

elsewhere. Hence, unless, as the rabble in politics, 
the children are awed by the majesty of knowledge 
and intellect discernible in their preceptor, his office 
itself begets contempt in them, and they soon become 
insolent and rebellious. Children at school are al- 
most uniformly the true exponents of the parents 
and guardians at home : the skillful and experienced 
teacher can read the roots from the radical signs. 
Patronizing parents think they well know teachers ; 
but teachers do know, when they study the children, 
e sanguine oriuntur! These parents, regarding a 
school as a species of nursery, are content if the 
children are taking the education — as they took the 
measles, or cow^-pox — finely ! If this goes not on 
smoothly, another pap-house or inoculation-house 
is sought ; while the former is decried as a place 
where the master likes money well enough, but 
does not understand children ! 

The vital importance, however, of education is 
deeply impressed as a sentiment on many minds, 
where vet is radical mistake as to its nature. 

Of this class of persons, some are willing, at least 
for a time, to leave the whole business with the teacher, 
not because of any clear perception of the truth, but of 
some misty views of its necessity, and a conviction 
that they themselves cannot, if an opportunity of- 
fered, guide. The expectation is great ; but by 
what process the educating of children is carried on, 
or how it goes on, there is no just appreciation. A 
certain time, longer or shorter, is, in their minds, al- 
lotted for the transformation, or the transmutation ; 
and beyond that period, they become almost inev. 



274 CHAPTER VII. 

itably suspicious as to the boy's capacity, thesys tern 
of educating, or the dihgence and capabiHty of the 
teacher. They look every way now, eijicept the 
right way — they are disappointed because they had 
misjudged ; but they lay the blame not at their own 
door, they lay it at their neighbor's ! Sick men, and 
sick men's friends, occasionally deem weakness and 
paleness after a fever unfavorable tokens : so these, 
when a boy is robbed of his false strength, and be- 
comes less pert and loquacious, and more timid, im- 
agine sometimes that he has lost his smartness, that 
books have repressed his growth ! Hence, if confi- 
dence in the importance of education is not lost, con- 
fidence in the teacher or plan is gone ; and so the 
school or plan is changed. 

Others, who truly value education, value it not as 
a whole, but in its parts. Sentiments here are varied 
by a thousand prejudices and interests. The class 
may be sub-divided into two — the one in favor of an 
english course, the other, of a language course, or^ 
as usually called, the classical. The latter partial- 
ism, for it is nothing more, when it arrays one part 
of education against another, is a more fortunate 
mistake ; for a child under a judicious teacher of 
language, is led aright, notwithstanding the error of 
the parents. Still, any partialism in education is to 
be lamented, as in law, medicine, morals, or divinity. 
And in case teachers are partialists, as well as the 
parents, children can never, save by accident, be- 
come complete scholars. We are, however, com- 
paratively rejoiced at lighting on a community 
where the classical course is the fashion, although 



PERSONS MOST .SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 275 

views of the modus operandi are false. There usu- 
ally is found more patience ; and more time is allowed 
for a teacher to do right, even if the opinion in his 
favor is a prejudice, and the fortune that favors him 
is blind. Indeed, parents here often become rest- 
less, and send occasional petitions in favor of drop- 
ping or suspending some English study, and simply 
because they are partisans of Latin and Greek ! 
But, by a thousand innocent contrivances, the 
teacher, if he belong not to the unfortunate class of 
touchy folk, may yet work into this partial course 
some good amount of English, if not a quantum suffi- 
cit ; and he may send home a boy a better scholar 
than the parents designed. And this not rarely de- 
lights, as it was supposed to have been done accord- 
ing to the recipe — the Latin and Greek pill ! 

Next are the advocates of the English course. 
These have frequently a triumph, because boys done 
on the other recipe, and treated according to the 
language system^ often fail in knowledge of common 
english studies, and, for a while, in making business 
men. As far as the objection lies against a partial- 
ism in education, it is valid. Objections, however, 
against the english partialism, are more numerous 
and more forcible ; and that, not from the quarter of 
a complete education, comprising english and clas= 
sics, but from the classical course as a mere partial- 
ism itself. The english advocates are often liberal, 
philanthropic, and in all respects good and worthy ; 
yet if their views of an english course are not ex- 
tensive, they incline to keep children in an endless 
iteration of the same elementary studies. And their 



276 



CHAPTER VII. 



parents, not understanding that even their studies at 
first require much labor and dihgence, too often in- 
tercede for a decrease in the length of tasks, or for a 
less inflexible rigor in exacting the " full tale of 
brick." 

But the number that values education for special 
ends is vast. By some, it is regarded as an orna- 
ment ; by others, as a means of acquiring influence, 
honor, wealth. The kind and extent of education 
depend, then, on the kind of influence or honor val- 
ued by the parents ; or the ornament prized ; or 
whether riches or moderate fortune be deemed de- 
sirable. Every selfish end determines, in some de- 
gree, the education. Arithmetic and book-keeping 
are sufficient for some : they are to be store-keepers. 
Others may learn chemistry : they are designed for 
druggists, or perhaps for scientific farmers. This 
boy may learn surveying, that he may always as- 
certain, with great exactitude, the boundaries of his 
estate. Here and there one wishes Greek enough 
for medical terms ; another Latin, for law books and 
writs. Some parents object to declamation or 
speaking, as the child is not intended for public life. 
Nay, the main argument against many valuable 
studies is with many, " We see no use in them !" Man 
not only begets a son in his own likeness — he con- 
trives to make him keep it ; and when the boy reaches 
manhood, he sees to no greater extent nor more 
clearly than his father. 

A class comparatively small, and yet a very large 
class of persons, is everywhere found, especially in 
the older States, who have true and just views and 



PERSOxXS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 



277 



appreciation of the nature and importance of edu- 
cation. With them, the great amount of valuable 
knowledge necessarily got in a process of correct 
training and discipline is not overlooked ; but all 
studies are regarded as tools and implements during 
an elementary course ; although some such studies 
may, after the completion of the whole education, 
be continued, as necessary to a business or profes- 
sion, or as a means of keeping the mental powers in 
activity and vigor. Here is no vulgar preference; 
no mistaken partialism ; no array of english against 
latin ; of literature against mathematics ; nor of the 
useful against the ornamental. Education has with 
them a value, if others cannot see how it will drive 
a nail, spread manure, make a pudding, mend a 
shirt, or darn a stocking. These see how^ a well- 
ordered and "well-balanced mind can recreate itself 
with fine and ornamental studies, and yet be never 
wanting in the soberer duties of life ; and how a piano 
interferes not with a wash-tub. Such persons are 
also patient. They know a boy has some things to 
unlearn, as well as some to learn ; and that a desire 
of studying implanted and fostered, and a habit of 
studying acquired, is, of itself, worth a large price, 
although no knowledge should have been gained in 
a year. 

An honest, laborious and eminently skilful teacher 
may have taught a boy the art of studying ; he may 
have inspired him with a noble resolution ; and the 
boy is now ready to advance in his studies with ra- 
pidity ; but, from some mere whim, or impatience, 
the misjudging parent, at that moment, removes the 
13 



278 CHAPTER V7I. 

boy. He removes him, perhaps, to an equally good, 
but not infrequently to an inferior school, where, 
however, the boy makes a rapid and immediate pro- 
gress, for which he had been so well prepared. The 
new school and teacher are, of course, now credited 
for this progress ; while the former school and it8 
teacher are cruelly and unjustly reported as un- 
skilful. 

A very general error prevails among parents of 
every sort — a desire that children should finish their 
elementary training at too early an age. The con- 
sequent mischiefs are many and great. Indeed* 
some are fatal to mind and body. A legal age is 
indispensable for the purposes of civil life ; yet the 
civil or municipal maturity, is not necessarily co- 
temporaneous with the natural, 'either as respects 
the physical or mental man. Perhaps the purposes 
of independent action and business require twenty- 
five as the period of majority rather than twenty- 
one. Many efforts are made to change the structure 
of civil society ; this we conjecture would be a valu- 
able change: let a boy be kept at a primary school 
and the academy till he is nineteen or twenty — then 
in college till he is two-and-twenty — and then let 
him study his profession or his trade, till he is twenty- 
five. We may be excused more minuteness here, 
till symptoms appear in favor of the change ; then 
we could be more prolix, v/ithout danger of weary- 
ing the reader. 

A change, however, in tlie college system is prac- 
ticable, and not, we apprehend, disadvantageous. 
Indeed, as the academies improve, unless the studies 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. ^79 

of the colleges are proportionally raised, the change 
must virtually take place. In most, if not all the 
colleges in the United States, it has virtually taken 
place already. It ought, how^ever, to be formally 
announced. The college course should be only 
two years, instead of four, or even three. The 
classes should be only the Junior and Senior. None 
ought to be admitted, then, into college under twenty 
years of age. Colleges are designed for men ; boys 
and youths can be far better drilled, and better 
taught the sophomore and freshman studies, in acad- 
emies. If not taught them in academies, pupils are 
never taught in colleges. The whole plan of study- 
ing and reciting and governing in college, is greatly 
different, and ought to be greatly different, from 
these things in academies. The intercourse between 
students and professors, is almost the opposite to the 
intercourse between the scholar and preceptor in 
academies. If colleges, therefore, do not receive 
well-taught and well-disciplined students from the 
academies ; and if they pretend to carry forward 
the student beyond the academical course and in 
appropriate college style ; the students v^^ill not be a 
whit profited if they remain collegians ten years in- 
stead of four. But if the colleges receive well-drilled 
students, they can, in two years, do a thousand fold 
better than now, in the four years' course. It is 
owing to the undisciplined minds of college students, 
that in so many, so very many cases, the college life 
is a total loss, nay, worse than a loss, mentally, mor- 
ally, physically ! Adopt the proposed plan, and col- 
leges will have more pupils, because the time 



2gO CHAPTER VII. 

would be short ; and, therefore, the tuition fees would 
amount to the same sum, if not more. Besides, fewer 
tutors would be needed ; the studies all being of a 
manly and advanced sort, would demand professors 
altogether. In some colleges, the two lower classes 
are mostly instructed by tutors ; and those tutors are 
generally very inferior to assistants in good acade- 
mies. Some of those tutors are scarcely worth 
their bread and butter. How much more noble and 
dignified a college, too, whose students are all young 
men ! How inconsistent with the true nature of a 
college, the urchins that often constitute the majority 
of the students ! It is this renders it easy to believe, 
that an academy is equal to a college, and sometimes 
superior. The colleges will never save themselves 
by stooping down. When enemies attack them, 
friends are unable to defend. Let something be 
done consistent with their nature and intention, and 
honest friends will do battle in their support : if they 
will not put their own shoulder to the wheel, in the 
mire will they remain. Let us have true colleges, 
and we will try and uphold the collegiate depart- 
ment of education. 

In the new plan proposed, young men would seem 
to be losing two or three years ; but it would be 
only a seeming loss. The innumerable evils of a 
hasty preparation in most cases, and of no prepara- 
tion in many cases, would all be avoided ; and if 
two years were apparently lost at the commence- 
ment of a civil life, the whole of life itself would be 
gained. And life, in this sense, is usually lost now, 
by the present system of education. 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 28 1 

Well do we know that many young men cannot 
delay if they would ; but these need not be gradu- 
ated. The academical education would be ample 
yet ; and that is better by far than these persons 
now obtain usually in colleges. Many can de- 
lay, however, and the number would be gradually 
increased. For these we now write. If they, after 
being graduated at twenty-two, studied a profession 
until twenty-five years old, quacks of every kind 
would be contrasted, and not compared, with the regu^ 
lar students of science. The superficial attainments 
of the pretendedly regular, encourage, invite, em- 
bolden quacks. Not a few regular students and pro- 
fessors seem to depend as slavishly on certain rules 
and formiJse, as if they were panaceas and nostrums ; 
and that pertains to the very essence of quackery. 
The latter appeals to authority not more, in many 
cases, than do the former when they understand the 
exterior nature only of these rules. 

In regard to women, the author is entirely con- 
fident that their education is, almost universally, so 
hurried, as to be little more than nominal. Where 
accomplishments are deemed indispensable — and 
the author is a decided advocate for most accom- 
plishments — the whole education of women is very 
superficial. 

In schools eminently good, and where the most 
learned instructors are employed, but where young 
ladies are graduated at sixteen or eighteen, the edu- 
cation, in the nature of things, if considered as a 
complete education, embracing all the studies ex- 
hibited in the prospectus, must be a superficial edu- 



282 



CHAPTER Vir. 



cation. The mind cannot have received all sup- 
posed to be furnished. We repeat, that a gallon of 
fluid cannot be compressed into a quart measure, 
without the destruction of the vessel. Lives are 
constantly sacrificed, in the vain attempts at the 
forcing system. The folly of this system has ever 
been acknowledged as regards men : why is it 
not confessed with regard to women ? One answer 
to this must be looked for in that preposterous and 
unnatural conventional practice of considering 
young ladies at eighteen as marriageable women. 
All the reasons of this practice need not be men- 
tioned ; one is obvious and sufficient — the prema- 
ture period assigned for commencing the civil life 
of men. The limit for woman's civil life would at 
once be farther removed, if that of man's were 
changed. Make it fashionable to regard a woman 
as a girl till she is twenty, and her education may 
be more profound and complete, without being less 
extensive. But if this be impracticable ; then hu- 
manity, and religion, and policy all cry out, and 
say : — " Let woman's education be less extensive 
and more perfect." Hence, while institutions grant- 
ing diplomas to girls are very imposing, they are 
also a little farcical. They can be no more than a 
certificate that the girl has tripped lightly over a 
very large field ; but not that she is learned, in any 
fair sense of that term. If it be intended to say^ 
that her education is, in any good degree, as to ex- 
tent or depth, similar to that of a college, in the 
proper use of the word, it is an imposition ; if it be 
intended to say, that the diploma is for an inferior 



PERSONS MOST SUITABLE' FOR TEACHERS. 



283 



degree, then let it not be called a diploma — a name 
specially appropriated to what is higher in charac- 
ter. The exact truth is of vital importance in every- 
thing pertaining to education. Already, the lines of 
demarcation are effaced between kindred, and yet 
separate and distinct parts of education. Confusion 
is the result of these follies ; and education has be- 
come a jumble and a contradiction. Here, as else- 
where, the agrarian and extreme democratical prin- 
ciple is at work, not of design, but in obedience to 
the spirit of the age. Perhaps, when this spirit has 
wrought out an intolerable evil, it will, corrected 
and chastened by the consequent suffering and dis- 
appointment, be ready to lay the foundation anew ; 
and then, will be *' a place for everything, and every- 
thing in its place." 

To parents, guardians and trustees would we re- 
spectfully, but most earn estly, recommend, that as 
far as possible, they should, when the fact can be 
ascertained, prefer as teachers men that make teach- 
ing their profession, and who are determined to be- 
come finished artists ; and the decidedly religious to 
the merely moral ; and lastly, ever and without hes- 
itation, that they should reject, and with indignation, 
the infidel, or the immoral man. These have no 
right to be practical educators : belief in the Chris- 
tian religion and good morals are essential qualities 
of the practical educator. 

It would be, indeed, both unjust and ungenerous 
to intimate that persons who intend making a school 
the stepping-stone to what they deem a higher em- 
ployment ; or who, for any other reason, intend to 



Ogl CHAPTER VII. 

teach but for a short season ; that these are not gen- 
erally worthy men, and to some extent competent 
and successful teachers. And yet many things con- 
join to render men who are devoted for life to the 
employment, still more competent and successful. 
These have besides from that very choice a superior 
and prior claim. Hundreds of distinguished per- 
sons now in the pulpit, at the bar, in the senate, or 
in the counting-house, would have, out of choice* 
and from a sense of duty, remained teachers, had 
they perceived themselves and their profession prop- 
erly appreciated and rewarded. They are lost to 
the cause of practical education, because parents did 
not duly appreciate them. Let the world say, we 
will have teaching a science and teachers artists ; 
we will not allow mediocrity here, more than in 
other sciences and arts ; our children shall be trained 
and disciplined by the learned, the talented, the dig- 
nified, the skilful ; our primary schools, academies, 
and colleges, shall rise in glory and majesty all over 
the land, even as temples to God ; we will esteem 
learning and discipline next to religion, and teach- 
ers next to the ministers of our most holy religion ; 
and then shall a body of men exist and be increased 
in our land, worthy all praise, reward and admi- 
ration. 

That some, who make teaching an intermediate 
affair, are deplorably deficient in every essential re- 
quisite of an artist, is too true. It is natural that 
this should be the case. Some, moreover, engage 
ia teaching, under a false impression that it is an 
easy life ! We may well pity the man who makes 



PERSOxVS MOST SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. gSS 

it an easy life ; his account will be a melancholy one 
— nearly as much so, as that of the minister who 
finds little to do, and does that little badly ! Even 
idle men, if otherwise learned and competent, ought 
not to be chosen as teachers. 

A parting word to associates in teaching, will 
conclude this chapter. 

Our office is honorable and important. But much 
depends on ourselves to make it thus in the estima- 
tion of the world. We may compel men to think 
and speak of the profession with due respect. That 
is a good rule : "Would a man appear in any char- 
acter ? — be that character." Yet, if men are ever 
so intrinsically worthy, and are still seemingly 
ashamed of their employment, that is reason suffi- 
cient for the world to despise the office. If a 
teacher seem to undervalue his profession, men may 
respect and revere him, but they will lament that 
he should have thrown himself away upon an un- 
suitable or undignified employment. 

Not infrequently, when a person of evident talents^ 
of ready and brilliant wit — a man that commands 
the attention of an intellectual and polished com- 
pany — when he has passed into a different room, or 
withdrawn from the company, leaving a delighted 
assembly to regret his departure ; some stranger, in 
answer to a query relative to the gentleman, re- 
ceives a whispered answer,' with something like 
sorrow in the responding voice : " He is a teacher !" 

Often, too, in written articles in newspapers and ma- 
gazines, when necessary mention is made of certain im- 
portnnt persons — important, for talents, discoveries, 
13* 



286 CHAPTER VII. 

station, or other causes, a hurried and apologetical ref- 
erence is made to his present or former *' school !' 
and not rarely, hopes are expressed that the person 
may soon find a more fitting field of usefulness, and 
theatre of display ! ! 

Are not teachers themselves, in a measure, blame- 
worthy for this misapprehension, and this imperti- 
nent, although ignorant, apologizing and lamenta- 
tion ? If we be truly what we should be, and our 
profession in its science and art be what we know it 
to be ; then why not always, when proper, speak 
and write about this profession, and act in regard to 
it, as if, in our estimation, it was the noblest or next 
to the noblest office on earth ? It may be severe, 
and yet it is just to say, that a man really ashamed 
of the teacher's office, is unworthy that office : per- 
haps real shame here is inconsistent with profound 
learning — it certainly is, with acute discernment 
and benevolence. Some, indeed, not really ashamed, 
may yet out of delicacy seem ashamed, on certain 
occasions, who, when a necessity arose, would yet 
dare to magnify the office ; but that false shame 
argues a conviction in our minds, that the public do 
not appreciate our office aright. This, however, is 
the very reason why we should ever magnify the 
office. Society needs correction and instruction on 
this very point. Like a chamelion, society takes its 
color and tone from a few leading men : teachers 
could easily change its complexion and sentiment, 
respecting education and its artists. 

Our profession is, in many parts of the world, 
owins^ to the wide-spread and profound ignorance 



PERSONS MOS r SUITABLE FOR TEACHERS. 287 

of the people, liable to a peculiar quackery, which 
may be called pedagogueism. And as many chil- 
dren are to be educated, many pedagogues will be 
found. Like other fooleries they equal the demand. 
But they stamp on education and its science a brand, 
which gives a false idea of their true nature. This 
takes place in medicine, law, divinity ; and if the 
caricaturists of these sciences continued as long 
after the greater civilization and enlightenment of 
the community, as do the caricaturists of our pro- 
fession, their science would be as much under- 
valued. A community is not so soon nor so easily 
disabused, respecting education ; and, therefore, our 
profession is often in comparative contempt, long 
after the other professions have attained their due 
elevation in the public estimation. 

The cure of this unavoidable evil is, in a mea- 
sure, to be found in our being just to ourselves ; but 
parents and trustees can do much if they will uni- 
formly prefer, when the two come into competition, 
the professor to the amateur. If an amateur is 
needy, better make him up a purse. If he wishes 
to amuse himself, he may find recreation in less sol- 
emn things — schools are for holier and better pur- 
poses. 

Legislative aid, on whatever principle bestowed, 
should never be given where incompetent teachers 
are employed. Dullness and ignorance here should 
be punished, not rewarded. As to pedagogues, 
they should be set in the stocks. Perhaps, whilst 
the laws of libel admit no facts in justification of 
censure, and severely punish, not the rogue but the 



288 



CHAPTER VII. 



rogue's enemy, quackery, pedagogueism, and trick- 
ery of every kind, will rule and run triumphant. 
Morbid sympathy and licentious hberty are on the 
side of crime and cheatery. Law forbids a man to 
get for his money any but an interest fixed by the 
State, under plea of protecting the people from usu- 
rers ; but law gives up the people thus defended from 
a probable evil to be gulled, tricked, cheated, hum- 
bugged without stint and without mercy, making it 
penal for the good and honest and intelligent to ex_ 
pose the liars and rogues who are amassing fortunes 
beyond the dreams of even Jewish money-lenders. 

Finally, gentlemen associates, be untiring in dili- 
gence, enthusiastic in soul ; look onward and up- 
ward. We have a'noble cause ; we are a mighty 
body : let us, in the fear of God, and for the love of 
Jesus Christ, and the love of men, train our disciples 
in the way they should go, and send them forth our 
living epistles, open, and to be read of all men : let 
us in this manner specially, but also in all other 
suitable ways, and on every suitable occasion, mag- 
nify our office. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



TO THE YOUNG. 

Human life may be divided into three stages : 
youth, middle life, old age. Measuring by the time 
that we are under the authority of parents and of 
opinion, youth may extend from the period after in- 
fancy to the vigor of manhood ; terminating about 
the thirtieth year. Here begins middle life. This 
period, determined by defects of mind and body 
ordinarily then visible, and by timidity relative to 
new enterprises, and the despondency then manifest, 
ends, perhaps, with our fifty-fifth year — lasting, con- 
sequently, about five-and-twenty years. The third 
period, old age, now begins. This, under suitable 
regimen, would usually cease with the extinction of 
life at threescore and ten ; but it is commonly, by 
criminal abuse and negligence, ended five or ten 
years earlier than the assigned and natural limit. 

Viewing man as born for others as well as for 
himself, as constituting part of a divinely consti- 
tuted and organized social state, or of a state neces- 
sarily and inevitably resulting from physical and 
mental organization, youth may be regarded as an 



290 



CHAPTEIl VIII. 



age of preparation, and middle life an age of activ- 
ity. For it is then onjj, in the middle state, when 
the powers of our nature have all been properly 
disciplined, the passions controlled, the appetites 
curbed, forbearance practised, and prudence exer- 
cised, that we are ready to serve our generation in 
the orderly and full discharge of every duty. 

A few excepted, prematurely worthless, all young 
persons anticipate a time when they shall mingle in 
the busy scenes of the world ; not as mere men and 
women, or spectators at a show, but to act their 
several parts as husbands, wives, parents, rulers, 
teachers ; a time, when they shall share in its enter- 
prises and honors, no longer humble imitators, but 
themselves the models ; not the servants but the 
masters of opinion ; directing, not impelled by the 
spirit of the age. 

It becomes, hence, to the young, an obvious and 
highly important inquiry : *' What preparation can 
best fit us for one main end of existence, the benefit 
of our generation ? and how shall we become ade- 
quate to the discharge of all our duties with dignity 
and success ?" A brief answer will be given in 
this chapter. 

In the production of grand effects, not the opera- 
tion of a single cause, but the combined and harmo- 
nious operation of several, may be traced. Thus 
in moral or political life, good depends not on mere 
talent, or genius, or enterprise, or industry ; it de- 
pends on the union of all these. Indeed, good very 
frequently depends not even on the union of any acr 
tive causes ; it depends rather on cautiop, patiepce^ 



TO THE YOUNG. 291 

disinterestedness. Sometimes it depends on cessa- 
tion from all attempts and labors. Men very often 
must be enlightened, soothed, entreated, led ; and 
that for their advantage. Here, then, v^^e need all 
our passive and scarcely any of our active virtues. 

The main preparation, therefore, for youth is a dis- 
cipline of restraint and self-denial. 

Knowledge may not be undervalued. Without 
adequate knowledge, no complete discharge of duty 
can ever occur ; yet while the acquisition of knowl- 
edge is one end of study in schools, the young need 
more to be taught self-government, self-knowledge, 
self-respect, and consequent habits and qualities. 
Differences in success are by no means so much at- 
tributable to differences in learning, as to differences 
in caution, prudence, forethought, self-control, and 
similar habits ; and, indeed, it is in such habits and 
qualities, that boys differ from men, and not, as is 
commonly imagined, in talents, genius, and even ac- 
quirements. As to mere literary efforts, the man 
often does not surpass the young person. 

The prophet Jeremiah has embodied an important 
sentiment in these words : " It is good for a man that 
he bear the yoke in his youth." Doubtless refer- 
ence is here made principally to afflictions ; but, 
since afflictions are advantageous mainly in produ- 
cing self-denial, self-government, and self-knowledge, 
the prophet's words may be extended, and without 
violence, to comprehend any other discipline pro- 
ductive of like results. As the neck, therefore, of a 
|tubborn or rebeUious ox is bowed down under a 
yoke, and his vjist strength thus rendered subservi- 



292 CHAPTER VIII, 

ent to the master's purposes, so must young persons 
be subjected to wholesome and severe discipHne, 
that they may best subserve the designs of a benev- 
olent Creator in forming men social beings. 

Young persons must be subjected, first, to the 
yoke of a severe and laborious moral and intellect- 
ual training. 

We repeat, that simply or mainly to impart 
knowledge, is not the sole end of judicious instruc- 
tion. Were it possible, which it is not, properly to 
train ihe mental, the moral, and the physical nature, 
and impart no knowledge, one thus disciplined is 
better qualified for the duties of middle life, than 
another of boundless knowledge and yet of an un- 
disciplined mind and heart. A man that can use a 
few dollars properly, is superior to an idiot with the 
estate of a prince. The art of acquiring, arranging, 
and applying knowledge — the art of thinking, rea- 
soning, concluding — the art of prompt acting on oc- 
casions and in emergencies — these most difficult and 
delicate arts, are the true ends of intellectual and 
moral training. Hence the instruments of the dis- 
cipline are often with safety laid aside, after an- 
swering their uses ; although, where the duties of 
middle life allow, educated men, as well as all pro- 
fessional scholars, will be fully compensated, by con- 
tinuing and extending their acquaintance with the 
classics and mathematics. And for these many 
books are highly valuable, which are of little impor- 
tance, or even detrimental as school-books. 

The young persons addressed in this chapter ar^ 
in a measure free from parental authority, and their 



TO THE YOUNG. ggg 

education is, in some degree, in their own hands. 
Some, perhaps, have even to commence their own 
education. But happily, that kind of education 
which is most valuable, depends on ourselves ; and, 
in some respects, all men must be self-educated. 

It is, truly, a pitiable thing to hear so many young 
people lamenting the want of schools and teachers, 
and favorable opportunities, when we can all do so 
much for our own improvement ; and not a few can 
do immeasurably more for themselves than the vast 
majority of common schools can do for them. Pay- 
ing for many schools is like paying for a ride in a 
canal boat, and then leading the horses on the tow- 
path : the scholar might have staid -at home, except 
for the name of going to school. 

If young persons would seriously set about the 
work of self-instruction, (where good schools are 
not found, or where not possible to attend a school,) 
even with poor materials, helps, and instruments, 
they would be surprised, at length, by their progress 
in all that is valuable, and at the success with which 
they had overcome seemingly invincible obstacles. 
Let such always remember, that it is not the mere 
acquisition of knowledge they should have in view, 
but the exercise of their minds. Hence, if after se- 
vere study, we fail to comprehend fully, we have 
still gained the grand end of effort — practice in 
thinking. This exertion itself, made and repeated 
again and again, is of countless price : this state or 
habit of soul, thus dearly bought, will, under more 
favorable circumstances, which always in time hap- 



294 CHAPTER VIII. 

' pen, enable us, at once, to master the most difficult 
subjects. 

Let the young, therefore, begin with fit subjects 
of disciplme, subjects within their reach, and in the 
best way they can ; let them persevere, and as abil- 
ity and knowledge increase, let them extend and 
systematize their labors, correct their errors, avail 
themselves of all accessible aids, and we shall see 
them all happier, and not a few raised to the high- 
est walks of life ; and this in spite of their want of 
common schools, or even academies. Perhaps some 
may wish us to recommend studies. Among disci- 
plinary studies, we recommend arithmetic, mainly 
the mental ; algebra, the mathematics generally ; 
natural and mechanical philosophies ; latin, greek, 
french, german, and other modern languages gram- 
matically studied ; the English classics, such as Ad- 
dison, Shakspeare, not as a mere writer of plays, Mil- 
ton ; political economy ; mental and moral philoso- 
phy ; composition ; above all, the Bible. Add, evi- 
dences of Christianity. 

One reason fur condemning works of mere fiction 
is now evident. To such works, as far as ordinary 
readers are concerned, are many objections : their 
tendency, designedly or undesignedly, is usually im- 
moral ; they vitiate the taste ; they mis-inform ; they 
give false and exaggerated views of individuals, 
presenting mere fancy pictures or sketches of aggre- 
gated virtues and vices ; they defile the imagination 
and inflame the passions ; they weaken the sense of 
duty ; they beget a disgust of life as it is, of daily 
and common life. But the grand objection at pres- 



TO THE YOUNG. 295 

ent urged is, that such works are not sufficiently 
difficult for studies ; they are designed almost solely 
for amusement. Where young persons, therefore, 
are seeking to improve themselves, and especially 
where there has been little previous cultivation, and 
all the time and money *are, needed for better pur- 
poses, to these we give, as a deliberate advice, that 
they instantly collect and burn every novel and ro- 
mance in their possession ; nay, further, let this class 
of young people at the end of their year, discontinue 
those newspapers whose sole or leading recommend- 
ation is — " original and selected stories and tales." 
Freely do we admit that some of these are, in all 
respects, unexceptionable ; that we have ourselves 
read some that are worthy all praise for elegant 
diction, ingenious plot, moral tendency : but as 
freely do we affirm that by far the great majority is 
poor in all respects, and of no good tendency ; and 
that many are in every point of view contemptible, 
and meriting a place in no publication making pre- 
tensions to a literary or moral character. 

But we cannot study always. Recreation is ne- 
cessary to the digestion of mental and corporeal 
food. Some things, too, can be learned from obser- 
vation only, and testimony. It is important to con- 
template models in the discharge of duties, public 
and domestic. We must long float with the tide of 
opinion, before we may venture successfully to stem 
it. In short, for innumerable reasons, society is ne- 
cessary to us ; and no pleasures -are more exciting 
than those of companionship. And yet, it is here 
that the young are in imminent danger of losing the 



296 CHAPTER VIII. 

whole advantage of private discipline, and of con- 
tracting habits fatal to expected success. To them 
is no safety, except in good society. Without that, 
they would be better without any. 

Good society is, indeed, apparently severe in its 
external appearance. Hence the young rarely seek 
such, regarding it a hindrance to hilarity and pleas- 
ure ; but if we seriously desire improvement, we 
must be found in good company. With such let us 
ride, walk or play ; let us see paintings, or hear mu- 
sic ; let us attend elections, or engage in iijnocent 
amusements, or do any lawful thing : and then oc- 
casions innumerable will arise, of asking advice and 
hearing opinions on religion, politics, literature, the 
fine arts and sciences, and of obtaining hints and di- 
rections on important pursuits and studies. We 
shall find a thousand knotty difficulties solved, and 
perplexing intricacies unravelled ; see many living 
exemplars of written rules; and, finally, among other 
benefits, become strengthened in correct conclusions, 
and rectified in erroneous ones. 

Is it asked, what is good company ? Without 
negative description, we reply : by good society is 
here meant, the best educated and disciplined ; the 
most moral, prudent, sober and religious. Good so- 
ciety is yet better composed of both men and women. 
Nor is the contemptible frivolity of many mixed 
companies valid objection to this remark ; because, 
if women were generally educated as this work ad- 
vocates, we are fully persuaded no society could be 
so pleasant, so honorable, so elevating, as that in 
which educated women formed a part. Well edu- 



TO THE YOUNG. 



297 



cated women could not form a part, where men vi* 
cious, rude and foolish obtamed, or even expected 
admission. Elevate women, and we elevate our- 
selves. Policy, as well as duty and generosity, de- 
mand the complete education of women. Hence, 
women should be educated as men are, as far as is 
practicable. 

Let it not be said, good society is hard to be found. 
It exists on a larger or smaller scale in every com- 
munity. Nor is it impossible to gain admittance; 
for while this society has its necessary barriers and 
restraints, like any other society, it has none other 
than utility, virtue, patriotism, and religion itself, 
impose ; and it would voluntarily open its bosom for 
the reception of the young, being grieved by their 
refusal, and not by their attempt, to enter. 

There is one yoke the young must wear, if they 
would be useful in middle life — the yoke of temper- 
ance. 

Intemperance from intoxicating drinks, alas ! so 
common, is doubtless, from that circumstance, the 
first, and with many of our readers, perhaps, the 
only species of intemperance supposed to be meant. 
Prevalent as this horrible vice is, what wonder so 
many, so very many, should against this rock dash 
all hopes of peace, usefulness, and honor ( The 
grand and sometimes the sole lesson to the young is 
— "to drink." To this they are welcomed with 
smiles, and wheedled by flattery ! are assured that 
to drink fearless, is one evidence of an independent 
soul and generous disposition. The houses they 
visit, the hotels that refresh them, the stores where 



ogg CHAPTER VIII. 

they deal, the places of their recreation ; the men 
that frame, and the men that execute law ; the phi- 
losopher, the patriot ; alas ! in some cases the di- 
vine ; even woman with mis-applied entreaties ;^- 
yes, the very fathers on whose knees they have 
sported in infancy, and the very mothers from whose 
bosoms they have drawn life — these, all thqse, in a 
thousand ways, mix, and dilute, and sweeten, and 
render fragrant with spices and sparkling with 
beauty the bowl — the accursed, damned bowl ! to 
overcome distaste, to subdue shame, to abate fear, 
to lull conscience, to make the young abandoned, in- 
fatuated. Heaven-daring sinners. No wonder that 
young men who have been redeemed from the hor- 
rible abyss shudder as they look back ! No wonder 
bereaved parents, mourning over the lost, look up 
to Heaven and ask vengeance on the destroyers ! 

We stay not to prove — all know — examples are 
everywhere around — all know, how drunkenness 
debilitates the body, poisons the breath, enervates 
the soul, brutalizes the appetites, — yea, transforms 
man into a brute and a beast ! Alas ! too well we 
know, that drunkards, should they reach the middle 
life, become objects of pity to the good, of scorn to 
the proud, andof grief to friends — mere examples of 
warning and beacons of danger to the sober ; and 
how, at last, the groaning community feels in a 
measure relieved, when the bloated and unseemly 
carcasses are covered in the grave ! 

Temperance — nay, rigorous abstinence from what 
intoxicates, must be, therefore, practised by the 
young. Still, this single species of temperance is 



TO THE YOUNG. 299 

not the sole form now recommended. Our desires, 
our appetites, om- passions, must, in the use and en- 
joyment of things lawful and innocent, be studiously 
moderated ; because, among many other reasons, 
this self-denial and control are the means of afford- 
ing health, time, money, and spirits for our studies, 
and is itself a paramount design of self-discipline. 
Would we insure success ? be temperate in all 
things^n eating, in apparel, in recreation, in study- 
ing, in the enjoyment of good society itself Thus 
shall we be well fitted for the duties of middle life, 
and obtain, during our' disciplinary state, the highest 
degree of self-satisfaction and peace. 

Not a little from experience and more from ob- 
servation, and also from the nature of the divine 
economy in the government of the world, the au» 
thor is satisfied, that the preceding general direc- 
tions, although few, must and will, if faithfully fol- 
lowed, place a man, in after life, upon high and coni= 
manding ground among the virtuous and the honora- 
ble. But, if we would be more certain of success, 
and especially if we aspire to rewards nobler than 
the emoluments and honors of place, and approba- 
tion of men ; if we would be had in everlasting re- 
membrance — and distinguished remembrance — af- 
ter mere worldly great men shall have been forgot- 
ten ; then must we, in youth, wear the easy yoke of 
our Lord Jesus Christ's moral and intellectual dis- 
cipline. Without that yoke men may, by other dis- 
cipline, become extensively useful, and obtain mer- 
ited honors and respect. God permits us to gain the 
rewards we voluntarily propose. But, if we would, 



300 



CHAPTER VIU. 



in addition to the perishing, gain the immortal re- 
wards, nay, if we would be certain of the perishing 
ones, let us become submissive and joyous disciples 
in the school of Christ. 

There is a means of discipline not found in 
schools, nor in books, nor voluntarily chosen by any 
one — a discipline unpleasant to all, but specially so 
to the young — a discipline, however, without which 
no character becomes perfect, and which, bitter in 
the root, is sweet in the fruits — we mean affliction. 

Whatever be the mental powers and acquisitions, 
the personal dignity and comeliness, the adventitious 
circumstances, a man needs severe lessons to trans- 
form his nature : he must know himself. Self- 
conceit must be eradicated, haughtiness humbled, 
impatience subdued, presumption chastised, watch- 
fulness aroused, indolence punished, selfishness dis- 
carded. To accomplish all these tasks — each an 
herculean labor — affliction is the only competent dis- 
cipline. That is God's blessed mode of instructing 
his own children. 

Yet affliction will effect no good, unless we are 
patient and observant of the ends and uses. Prop- 
erly regarded, they are a blessing ; improperly, a 
curse. Let the young, therefore, in all disappoint- 
ments, or deluded hopes, or sickness, or poverty, or 
reproach, or bereavement, or sorrows of any sort, 
be well assured that a merciful and wise Creator is 
thus showing, not merely his anger at sin, but his 
wish to discipline men for the noble purposes of the 
social state and the rewards of the future. 



TO THE YOUNG. 



301 



Nothing but a severe and long-continued disci- 
pline of every kind can prepare the young for the 
middle life. For w^ant of this, men encounter only 
disappointment and chagrin. Without it, in pre- 
sumptuous haste they engage in schemes imprac- 
ticable, or beyond their capacities, or demanding 
more skill and prudence than they possess ; hence, 
after a few unavoidable defeats, they yield to oth- 
ers, inferior often in native talents, but superior in 
tact, forethought, and patience. 

Happy if the defeated could retire to their now- 
narrow sphere with a good grace. On the other 
hand, retiring with feelings of mortified pride and 
vanity, they sink down to the lowest level, and 
there vent malignant spleen against persons deemed 
fortunate ; and strive to drag these hated ones down 
with blackened characters. This is a constant sight. 
Without any gift of prophesy we may foretell, that 
unless the renovating Spirit of God mercifully pre- 
vent the necessary consequences from his own 
abused laws, the idle, the lounging, the trifling 
young persons must descend down the scale of hon- 
orable reputation to the class of snarling and cap- 
tious maligners ; or at best, to the class of instru- 
mental slaves, to be used and ordered according to 
the wisdom and will of the well-disciplined. 

How noble a well-disciplined youth ! Contrast 
with him a youth of the opposite kind : the first is sober 
and cheerful, the second frivolous ; the one culti- 
vates the soul, the other pampers the body ; the 
former lives for his fellows, the latter for himself. 
The disciplined person is lord of his appetites and 
14 . 



3Q2 CHAPTER viir. 

passions ; the undisciplined is the slave of their 
clamorous demands. In a word, the one does every- 
thing that lifts him up tov^ards the angels; the 
other, everything that thrusts him dov^^n towards the 
devils. 

Disciplined youth prolongs the period of middle 
life far into the period of old age. 

Proper care of the body and the avoidance of all 
excesses make the human frame more lasting ; but 
the mental discipline advocated now retards the 
imbecility of old age ; and it will, perhaps, always 
prevent that kind of weakness called dotage and 
second infancy. It is a well-attested fact in our 
history, that the mind fails prematurely because of 
its disuse ; and the mind must be disused in old age, 
if one have not in youth acquired habits of thinking 
and studying. Much learning in cases of physi- 
cal disease may, possibly, have made some ''mad/' 
but beyond a doubt, the want of learning has, in 
old age, when the activity of the^middle life is over, 
rendered many a person insane. Many literary 
men, by preserving studious habits to the last, have 
reached extreme old age with the perceptible loss 
and decay of no mental power. A few, from chance 
or indolence having discontinued their studies, have 
exhibited symptoms of premature weakness and 
idiocy. 

What a blessed old age, when a person has sub- 
mitted to the yoke of discipline in youth ! By that 
the has been able to discharge with honor and satis 
action to himself so many duties profitable to his 
fellow-men. Bv that he has noblv won the venera- 



TO THE YOUNG. 



303 



tion always paid to a hoary head, after a well-spent 
life. How calm the eveninoj of such a life ! How 
unlike the picture of gloom falsely thought to belong 
necessarily to declining years ! The body may 
grow old, but the soul may be kept in a youthful 
vigor and cheerfulness, till earth is exchanged for 
heaven. 

But if a person has lived aright, and has worn 
the yoke of Christian discipline, how blessed, not 
merely the retrospect of the past, but the anticipa- 
tion of the future ! what ineffable joys in contempla- 
ting the assured reward — a crown of glory and 
honor ! and while he has a heart to accomplish yet 
many good things for his generation, how he longs 
for the coming of a messenger, ghastly and terrific 
to the faithless, but to the wise and watchful serv- 
ant, an angel of mercy, smiling and welcome ! 

Such, youthful readers, are some leading direc- 
tions in answer to our proposed inquiry ; such are 
a few of many advantages flowing from the disci- 
pline advocated in this whole book. What shall be 
the effect of the whole upon yourselves? We fain 
would, but we dare not hope all will be benefitted. 
Mournful experience of the almost invincible levity 
and presumptuous arrogance of too many young 
people, forbids that hope — nay, bids us expect some- 
times derision and scorn ! — -and that where we hon- 
estly mean to do them good. 

Is it, however, too much to hope that some of our 
readers will become fixed and immoveable in good 
resolutions ? Surely some do soberly look at their 
weighty responsibilities ; surely some are burning 



3Q4 CHAPTER VIII. 

with a sacred ardor to discharge with honor and 
success the grand and solemn duties of hfe ; surely 
some are captivated by the picture of moral gran- 
deur pertaining to the disinterested performance of 
duties, and to the dignified demeanor of Christian 
meekness under the ingratitude of the wicked and 
thankless ; surely some abhor being drones in the 
political hive, or mere tools for the use of others, or 
instead of standing out in bold relief amidst the ar- 
chitecture of society, becoming hateful excrescences 
on the body politic, to be cut off by public senti- 
ment, or by loss of liberty, or perhaps by the sword 
of justice ! It must be, some are looking onward to 
the realities of old age, and desiring then the retro- 
spect of a well-spent life, and the joyous expectation 
of a life to come ! 

By all these lofty and holy purposes ; by the de- 
mands of the coming generation, destined to be 
either better or worse from your conduct ; by the 
preciousness of our liberties, bought with blood — 
liberties to be transmitted to posterity by your vir- 
tues and knowledge, or lost by your vices and igno- 
rance ; by the majesty of a nature fitted for duty 
and the endurance of suffering and trial ; by the 
baseness and cowardice of sloth ; by all the peace 
and joy that gladden the otherwise cheerless days 
of old age ; by your desires of finding comfort in 
death ; by your regard of the Supreme Judge, who 
shall say at the final day to his faithful sons, " Well 
done, enter ye into the joy of your Lord," and to 
faithless servants, " Depart, ye accursed ;" by all 
these momentous considerations, the author exhorts 



TO THE YOUNG. 



305 



and implores the young who read this work, to put 
on and submissively wear that yoke of discipline 
and obedience which inspiration teaches, and all ex- 
perience confirms, it is good for a man to bear in his 
youth. 



FINIS. 



/' 



rj 



b^7 



G 



